Raiders Lose $25 Million Starter for the Rest of the Season: Report

Getty Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce.

The nightmare season for the Las Vegas Raiders continues. Not only did the team drop their seventh-straight game in a 29-19 loss to the Denver Broncos, but another starter is headed to the Injured Reserve.

Quarterback Gardner Minshew had to leave the game in the fourth quarter with an apparent shoulder injury. Head coach Antonio Pierce said after the game that things didn’t look good and it’s about as bad as it can get for the Raiders.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo, Minshew broke his collarbone and he will be out for the rest of the season. He is now the second Raiders starting quarterback who is getting put on Injured Reserve as Aidan O’Connell is currently not playing.

Luckily, O’Connell could return as early as this week against the Kansas City Chiefs but it sounds like there’s no chance of Minshew coming back. This put an end to a very disappointing season for the veteran quarterback. For just the second time in his career, he was given a chance to be a Week 1 starter.

He played very poorly to start the season and was benched for O’Connell in Week 6. The Raiders gave him a two-year, $25 million contract in free agency but he was never able to play at a high level consistently as he finishes the season with nine touchdown passes to 10 interceptions.

Injury Woes Continue for Raiders

Nothing has gone right for the Raiders this season. The injury issues started before games were even played and they’ve only gotten worse. Before the season started, starting defensive end Malcolm Koonce was ruled out for the year after getting hurt in practice.

Since then, the Raiders have lost starting safety Marcus Epps for the year, and starting defensive tackle Christian Wilkins is on Injured Reserve. That’s not to mention that starting linebacker Divine Deablo missed multiple games earlier in the season with an injury. Starting cornerbacks Jakorian Bennett and Nate Hobbs also weren’t able to play in Week 12.

That’s only the defensive side of the ball. The offense was missing tight end Michael Mayer for much of the year, the offensive line continues to have to keep shuffling due to injuries, wide receiver Jakobi Meyers missed multiple games and now a second quarterback is headed to Injured Reserve.

Who Will Start at QB vs. Chiefs?

The Minshew injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Raiders. They have to travel to Kansas City on Friday to face the 10-1 Chiefs. Even if O’Connell is healthy enough to play, he’s been out for over a month.

Desmond Ridder has been the Raiders’ backup but he hasn’t been playing well. Until the team gives more information on the status of O’Connell, it appears that it will be Ridder’s show for the time being.

The Raiders weren’t winning with their other quarterbacks so they can’t be much worse with Ridder. The team may need to sign another quarterback in free agency but they won’t be ready to play on a short week. Ridder will have a chance to prove that he should be the starter for the rest of the season because it’s likely O’Connell’s job if the Raiders lose to the Chiefs on Friday.