Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew will miss the remainder of the season with a broken collarbone he suffered against the Denver Broncos in Week 12. Minshew signed with the Raiders as an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, playing in 10 games for the Black and Silver.
With backup quarterback Aidan O’Connell questionable, Desmond Ridder will get the start Monday night against the Atlanta Falcons if O’Connell is ruled out.
Revisiting Gardner Minshew’s Season-Ending Injury
Minshew’s broken collarbone will sideline him for the remainder of the 2024 season.
After getting sandwiched by two Broncos defenders, Minshew left the game with what was initially perceived as a left shoulder injury. He was expected to return. He had a modest stat line at the time of his injury (25 of 42, one TD, and one INT), but he never made it back in the game.
The injury was to Minshew’s non-throwing side, which eases the rehabilitation process. By contrast, Aaron Rodgers had suffered a similar injury earlier in his career and returned to throwing in eight weeks.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Monday afternoon Ridder will get the start as O’Connell is still exhibiting soreness in his left knee cap, which he suffered against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 14.
O’Connell is officially listed on the injury report as questionable, but it appears likely that Ridder will start vs. the Falcons.
“I can obviously walk, and move around and just obviously doing some stuff in the water, but trying to get on the field, which I did,” O’Connell said earlier in the week. “So just trying to progress and trusting the training staff to get me where I want to be.”
The Raiders, who are off to a 2-11 start and are a half game behind the New York Giants (2-12) for the worst record in the NFL, have nothing to look forward to this season and can only look to play out the string.
Minshew can only look forward to next season, where he might be mentoring a rookie draft choice like Shedeur Sanders of Colorado or Cam Ward from Miami.
As for Ridder, he took over for Minshew in the Denver game and led the team down the field, but they came away with no points.
“He’s a competitor,” Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said. “Obviously he was dealt a difficult hand. He was thrown in the fire with no reps, but he did move the ball downfield.”