The Las Vegas Raiders have made the decision to bench Gardner Minshew II for the second time this season. Last time, it was for Aidan O’Connell, but with him on injured reserve, this time, it’s Desmond Ridder replacing Minshew in Vegas’ offense.
Let’s look at how badly Minshew had performed in Week 9 and across the 2024 NFL season as a whole in order to get benched for the second time.
Gardner Minshew II Benched for Second Time in 2024
Minshew was benched after starting the game 10 of 17 for 124 yards in Week 9. At the time of his benching, the Raiders were losing 31-10 to the Cincinnati Bengals.
That scoreline makes this a perfect opportunity for the Raiders to get Ridder some snaps under center, as he’s only been with the team for just over a week.
Minshew has struggled throughout the season, posting a high QB+ grade of a C+ this season. His best performance came last week against the Kansas City Chiefs, but even then, he only ranked 20th for the week. Entering Week 9, Minshew was graded as a D- for the season and ranked 29th at the position.
Gardner Minshew has been benched for Aidan O'Connell after his last drive ended with this interception, his 2nd on the day.pic.twitter.com/amrhyMOZ5G
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) October 6, 2024
Minshew has struggled both when under pressure and throwing from a clean pocket compared to the rest of his NFL performances in our database. He’s also posting his lowest nYPA numbers, while his numbers in clutch situations are the lowest in our entire database.
Minshew entered the week having completed 67.6% of his passes but has just six touchdowns compared to eight interceptions. His success rate is also just 42.5%, which is below that of O’Connell.
It will be interesting to see whether the Raiders now give Ridder an extended run at quarterback. The third-year player has just 14 passing touchdowns compared to 12 interceptions in his career. The Atlanta Falcons drafted him 74th overall in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, but he could not sustain his career in Atlanta after two seasons.
In his only qualified season, Ridder posted a QB+ grade of a C-. That ranks below Minshew’s two seasons from 2019 and 2020 but above both his 2023 and 2024 performances to date.
While Ridder is likely not the QB of the future in Las Vegas, he has more potential at this point than Minshew and deserves an extended run in the role.
Fantasy Impact of Raiders’ QB Situation on Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers
The willingness of fantasy football managers to count on any Raiders this season should be low, but it doesn’t rely too heavily on the quarterback situation, as this team had problems in labeling their starter in the first place.
Jakobi Meyers is a desperation PPR Flex option or DFS punt play, while Brock Bowers is deserving of your trust each week. This is an ultra-condensed offense for a team that is routinely playing from behind. The routes might look a little different (more conservative with O’Connell), but the overall value doesn’t change much for anyone touching this offense.