Davante Adams dishes on Aidan O'Connell-Gardner Minshew QB competition ahead of Raiders training camp
The Las Vegas Raiders are entering the 2024 NFL training camp with their starting quarterback role still up for grabs. Wide receiver Davante Adams shed light on the QB battle between sophomore Aidan O'Connell and veteran Gardner Minshew.
On Tuesday, Adams was a guest on Fox Sports' 'Speak.' The Raiders WR said that he wants someone who is ready and confident when asked about his preference for the starting role.
"I want whoever's gonna look the best, when it's live bullets. So at the end of the day, 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 said.
Davante Adams continued, explaining that although Aidan is the frontrunner for the job, Minshew has the potential to take it away.
"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. 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."
Davante Adams added that the Las Vegas Raiders still have a lot of areas to get better. The six-time Pro Bowler pointed out that the training camp will be an opportunity to build better camaraderie with his quarterbacks and eventually decide the team's starter between Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew.
Davante Adams speaks on Raiders HC Antonio Pierce's impact on the team
The Las Vegas Raiders were in turmoil under former head coach Josh McDaniels. The team started the 2023 NFL season with a 3-5 record and McDaniels was fired shortly after a 26-14 Week 8 loss to the Detroit Lions.
Antonio Pierce was named the interim head coach for the rest of the season and was eventually appointed as the new HC after the season. Davante Adams had been vocal about his support for Pierce. Speaking on the same show, the Raiders WR discussed the impact of Pierce and how the head coach won the locker room. [From 12:57 mark onwards]
"He really affected the team before he even knew he affected the team," Adams said. ... "We had a little kumbaya last year, right before we actually made the change. And he actually got up there and spoke in front of the team. He opened up a lot of people's eyes because he'd been a real kind of quiet behind the scenes dude."
Adams added:
"We could feel the passion, we could feel that he wasn't scared of nobody in the room the way he got up there and talk directly toward specific people. You know, he's not afraid to empower certain players."
Antonio Piece has been very vocal about the approach for the team under his rein. The Las Vegas Raiders will begin their training camp later this month, on July 23 at the Jack Hammett Sports Complex. The team will have enough time to soak in Pierce's approach and get ready for the season.