Antonio Pierce is ditching competition in the name of certainty.
The Raiders head coach named Aidan O'Connell his starting quarterback for Sunday's Week 6 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, announcing his decision Wednesday.
"It was a quarterback battle early on," Pierce said. "[Minshew] started five games, and at this point, I think it's best to go with Aidan going forward."
Pierce seemed to evade whether O'Connell will be his starter for the remainder of the season, however.
"I don't plan on making switches at any time," Pierce told reporters. "When it's time to make a switch, we'll make a switch."
Pierce benched veteran starter Gardner Minshew in favor of O'Connell following Minshew's second interception in a Week 5 loss to the Denver Broncos, but declined to name a starter after the game. Most expected the week of practice to determine who would take the field for Las Vegas when it hosts Pittsburgh, but Pierce instead decided on the second-year passer from Purdue, affording him the rest of the week to prepare for his first start of 2024.
O'Connell's performance in Sunday's loss didn't provide any definitive proof he was the better option over Minshew. He completed 10 of 20 passes for 94 yards, but like Minshew, O'Connell threw an interception before the day was over.
O'Connell has history as Pierce's preferred choice. When the Raiders fired Josh McDaniels last season, Pierce's first move as interim coach was naming O'Connell the team's starter for the rest of the season, replacing Jimmy Garoppolo with the then-rookie. O'Connell completed 61.5% of his passes over Las Vegas' final nine games for 1,905 yards and an 11:5 touchdown-to-interception ratio, leading the Raiders to a 5-4 record and giving fans hope he might develop into a decent starter.
O'Connell lost a camp battle with Minshew for the starting job -- which came down to a preseason Week 2 game in which both candidates struggled -- ahead of the start of the 2024 season. Minshew's own troubles frustrated Pierce enough to replace him with O'Connell, who will now attempt to resume his career as a starter with a daunting task ahead of him in the form of Pittsburgh's stingy defense.
Now, at least, the Raiders know who will be under center on Sunday. As for the team's top wide receiver, Davante Adams' situation remains in flux. Adams, who has requested a trade, has missed the past two Las Vegas games with a hamstring injury.
Pierce offered nothing definitive on Adams' situation, only that he's making progress with his hamstring.
"Davante's doing well. Hamstring's getting there," Pierce said. "He's getting closer and closer to getting back on the field, on the practice field. Good spirits. We talked. Everything's good."
When pressed as to whether Adams could return to play for the Raiders, the head coach underscored his wideout would be ready once he was in good health physically.
"He's still a Raider," Pierce said. "When he's healthy and he can play, we'll play him. He's just not healthy right now. And he's getting closer, that's the good part, he's working every day to get that hamstring right, he's in the right head space, mentally, and like I said, we talked recently and had a good conversation and he's ready to play football."
