Davante Adams opens up about Raiders' quarterback competition

During a Tuesday appearance on the FS1 "Speak" program, star Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams addressed the team's quarterback competition between 2023 fourth-round draft pick Aidan O'Connell and journeyman Gardner Minshew.

"I don’t have a preference other than the fact that I want somebody that’s confident and ready to go when it’s time to do it," Adams explained, as shared by Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. "Whoever that is, that’s who I want throwing the ball."

Adams agreed to a five-year, $141.25M contract to join the Raiders via a trade from the Green Bay Packers in March 2022 so that he could play alongside Derek Carr, Adams' college quarterback at Fresno State. The Raiders officially parted ways with Carr in February 2023, though, and Jimmy Garoppolo didn't even last a full season as Carr's replacement.

Per most accounts, O'Connell will enter training camp later this month holding a slight lead over Minshew in the competition that could run through the Raiders' preseason finale versus the San Francisco 49ers on Aug. 23. On Tuesday, Adams somewhat confirmed that O'Connell is atop the depth chart.

O'Connell went 5-5 as a starter in his rookie season.

"I think right now, if I had to say, I think Aidan has the job because, you know, obviously he was here before and that’s the way that it was," Adams acknowledged. "He was running with the ones more and until Gardner comes in and takes the job away from him, I think it’s Aidan’s job right now. He doing what he’s got to to do to hold onto it. We still gotta keep working and do what we gotta do to get better."

As of Wednesday morning, FanDuel Sportsbook listed Minshew as the betting favorite (-225 odds) over O'Connell (+172) to start the Raiders' Week 1 game at the Los Angeles Chargers on Sept. 8.

As for Adams, he insists he's happy with the Raiders this summer after he got used to having future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers as his quarterback when both were with the Packers. One wonders if Adams could become unsettled if O'Connell and Minshew both fail to impress throughout this fall.