Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew II left the team’s Week 12 game versus the Denver Broncos in the fourth quarter. Below are the latest updates on Minshew’s status.
What Happened to Gardner Minshew II?
With 3:12 remaining in the fourth quarter, Minshew was sacked by a pair of Broncos. He immediately left the game and went to the locker room with an apparent left shoulder injury.
Gardner Minshew #raiders
Slammed onto his left shoulder, common mechanism for an AC joint injury, will also need to check for clavicle fracture. Luckily not his throwing arm pic.twitter.com/T2qdRQBeDf
— Tom Christ, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT (@FantasyInjuryT) November 25, 2024
Minshew was initially deemed questionable to return. He was 25-for-42 with a touchdown and an interception before departing. After the game, Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce provided an ominous update.
“With Minshew, left shoulder there,” Pierce said. “It doesn’t look good.”
Indeed, it appears X-rays immediately revealed the severity of the situation. Less than an hour after the game concluded, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported that Minshew’s season is over due to a broken collarbone.
#Raiders QB Gardner Minshew broke his collarbone and is out for the season, sources tell me and @MikeGarafolo. A frustrating end for Minshew. pic.twitter.com/J6mYztPPqa
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 25, 2024
Starting quarterback Aidan O’Connell (broken thumb) might be able to play next week when he’s eligible to come off injured reserve. When asked if O’Connell is an option for the Raiders’ Black Friday game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Pierce gave a candid response.
“Yeah, we’re going to need somebody. We’re running out of quarterbacks too, now,” Pierce said. “We’ll see what happens tomorrow, but obviously, it looks like he’s getting better. He threw a little bit in practice this week. Obviously, we’ve got a short week, play on Friday, travel on Thursday, so we have to make that decision very quickly.”
The Raiders signed Desmond Ridder off the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad on Oct. 21, and he filled in for Minshew when he exited Week 12. After Minshew left the game, Ridder came in and subsequently turned the ball over on a sack-fumble.
Pierce doesn’t feel that Ridder has been around the team long enough or gotten enough reps to start. As he was being asked if he’s seen enough from Ridder to start him, Pierce cut off the reporter.
“No, not to cut you off, but no. It’s not enough reps,” Pierce explained. “When Gardner was in there (as the starter), you give him all the reps. You do some stuff, like 7-on-7, certain periods we would, but to sit there and say he’s seen enough, no.
“He has film. He’s played in this league, and, obviously, today was tough, right? Sitting on the bench the last 55 minutes and now you’re thrown in the ballgame, and he did the best he could, he fought, put us down in position obviously to try to score a touchdown at the end of the game.”
It remains to be seen whether it will be O’Connell or Ridder under center for the Raiders in Week 13 against their AFC-West-rival Chiefs.
Fantasy Impact If Minshew is Out
It’s been a rollercoaster at quarterback for the Raiders all season. With Minshew unable to go, it’ll be Ridder or O’Connell taking over the rest of the way.
Minshew is far from the greatest quarterback but is capable of sustaining the fantasy football values of Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers. That would be a major stretch for Ridder, who could not support Drake London or Kyle Pitts last season.
If Ridder does end up starting, fantasy managers would have to downgrade Meyers, Bowers, and the rest of the Raiders’ offensive weapons.