Las Vegas Raiders still considering a quarterback change

HENDERSON, Nev. – Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce isn’t ruling out switching from Gardner Minshew to Aidan O’Connell at quarterback after O’Connell scored a touchdown in the closing stages of the Raiders’ crushing loss to the Carolina Panthers.

“I think we need to sit down with the players and evaluate everything first,” Pierce said Monday in his weekly press conference, which was delayed by more than an hour due to additional meetings with his coaching staff in the wake of the 36-22 home loss in the opening game, which dropped the Raiders’ record to 1-2.

And Pierce, a day after saying that certain players made “business decisions” during the Panthers game, did not walk back his postgame comment. Rather…

“I don’t bite my tongue,” Pierce said.

The Raiders, who host the Cleveland Browns (1-2) on Sunday, have not yet made any “business decisions” of their own, Pierce said.

“There are going to be times when the best players aren’t having their best day and others have to step in. That’s why it’s called team football,” Pierce said. “More importantly, we all have to understand that you have to go and do it as well as you can and do it full speed.”

“The effort was not as good as in previous games and that was noticeable. It did not look good at the end of the game.”

However, O’Connell performed well as Minshew’s replacement, winning a training camp bout with the second-year pro.

With the Raiders trailing 36-15, O’Connell took the lead with 4:47 left and led Las Vegas on a 13-play, 70-yard drive. He completed 9 of 12 passes for 82 yards, including an 8-yard touchdown pass to Tre Tucker that was nearly intercepted.

O’Connell said after the game that he was unsure what significance his participation in the game would have for the future.

“I want to perform whenever it’s my turn and obviously the game is a lot different when I’m on the court than when I’m playing the whole game, so it’s a different situation,” O’Connell said. “We’re hoping to win and not come from behind, but I’m certainly grateful for the opportunity… as a team as a whole we still need to improve. Me included.”

Minshew, meanwhile, threw for 214 yards and completed 18 of 28 attempts with one touchdown and one interception against the Panthers.

This season, Minshew has completed 73.7% of his passes (fourth in the NFL among passers with at least 50 attempts) and rushed for 747 yards (sixth in the league), with three touchdowns and three interceptions.

“AP talked in the locker room about not riding the roller coaster, not chasing the ups and downs, but continuing to try to get better,” Minshew said after the game. “And if we can do that – we have the right people to do it – everything will be fine.”

According to NFL Network, safety Marcus Epps also suffered a torn ACL.