Raiders' Antonio Pierce reveals the perfect reasoning for choosing Gardner Minshew over several other QBs

The Las Vegas Raiders went into this offseason knowing they had to address their quarterback situation. Whether you like it or think Aidan O'Connell is the real deal, they still need two more quarterbacks, as Brian Hoyer and Jimmy Garoppolo were not good. I like O'Connell a lot, and I love his character, but he may not be the option of the future for the Raiders, and that's fine.

To me, they still need to draft a quarterback. What round they will do that in is a completely different story. To guarantee they still have two competent quarterbacks because you never know what can happen in the draft, the Raiders signed Gardner Minshew in free agency. Now, while it was a surprise, no one was bashing Gardner, as he is a good, competent Quarterback.

But why Gardner Minshew, and why not some of the other guys who were available? Well, it's simple, really.

"He beat us, let's start there," Antonio Pierce said at the Annual League Meetings. 

"He's a competitor; we want that room to be as competitive as possible. Aidan [O'Connell] did a hell of a job last year, but like any other position on our team, we want to make that as competitive as possible. The thing about Gardner [Minshew] that you see throughout his career is that he finds a way, right? So, that's going to make our room better. He's been through a lot of adversity; you want that experience as well in there. So, to me, it's a good fit, and it's a culture fit. Wild boy right there. I like the personality." 

Minshew took over the starting job for the Indianapolis Colts last season when Anthony Richardson went down with an injury. He started 13 games, had the Colts on the brink of the playoffs, and actually beat the Raiders and virtually eliminated them from the playoffs.

Minshew went 7-6 last year as a starter and threw for 3,300 passing yards and 15 touchdowns. He was an above-average quarterback, much better than the Raiders' product last year, no matter who it was.

He, O'Connell, and the rookie will all have a QB battle in camp to see who wins the starting job in Week 1. After hearing what Pierce has said about Minshew, it's clear he likes him a lot.