The Raiders set out to improve their trenches this offseason and it appears they accomplished that goal. They re-signed Andre James and added Jackson Powers-Johnson in the second round of the draft. They also signed Christian Wilkins to a big deal, giving them a dynamic interior pass rusher for the first time in ages.
But one thing they did not accomplish was finding their next franchise quarterback. The Raiders did add Gardner Minshew, but he is a stop-gap player who certainly won’t go toe-to-toe with Patrick Mahomes in the AFC West. And for that reason, it’s fair to be critical of their offseason moves.
In a recent article by Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report, he named the Raiders as the biggest losers from the 2024 offseason after failing to adequately upgrade their quarterback position. Here is a snippet of what he had to say about their moves this year:
The Raiders are heading into training camp with sophomore signal-caller Aidan O’Connell and free-agent signing Gardner Minshew. Some within the Raiders’ fanbase are enamored with the flashes O’Connell showed as a rookie, and Minshew “earned” a Pro Bowl berth last season. But let’s not kid ourselves here.
O’Connell lacks functional mobility, and Minshew has terrible pocket presence and marginal arm talent. They’re both overachievers relative to their draft slots—they were fourth- and sixth-round picks, respectively—but good stories don’t make quality starting options.
The Raiders would have loved to grab their quarterback of the future, but it was clear that they weren’t interested in moving up for Michael Penix, Bo Nix, or J.J. McCarthy. Jayden Daniels was the rumored target, but there was just no conceivable way that they were going to be able to move up to No. 2 to acquire him.
Is it disappointing that the Raiders didn’t add a young quarterback? The answer is obviously yes. But that doesn’t mean the offseason was a failure by any stretch. If the Raiders perform poorly in 2024, you can bet they will be far more aggressive in targeting a quarterback in the 2025 offseason than they were this year.
