Aidan O’Connell to replace Gardner Minshew as Raiders’ starting quarterback vs. Steelers

Aidan O’Connell will start at quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 6 in place of previous starter Gardner Minshew.

Head coach Antonio Pierce announced the decision on Wednesday. The Raiders are making the change after a 2-3 start and a Week 5 loss to the AFC West rival Denver Broncos.

Pierce didn’t off much detail when asked why he made the decision.

O’Connell started 10 games for the Raiders as a rookie last season while Pierce served as the team’s interim head coach. He completed 62.1% of his passes for 201.6 yards per game with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The Raiders went 5-5 in games that O’Connell started.

The Raiders signed Minshew to a two-year, $25 million contract in the offseason after he previously served as the backup quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. Minshew is a sixth-year NFL veteran who joined the Raiders with 37 games of experience as an NFL starter for three different teams.

Pierce named Minshew as starting quarterback after a competition for the job in preseason and training camp.

“The operation, the processing — just everything we saw in practice,” Pierce said in August of Minshew winning the job. “Some of it showed up in the games. A lot of stuff we can get better at. I don’t think anything here is a finished product.

“But based off of where we want to go in the first quarter of the season, we feel like Gardner gives us the best opportunity.”

In five starts this season, Minshew has completed 70.7% of his passes for 202.8 yards per game with four touchdowns and five interceptions. The Raiders rank 24th in the league in total offense and 15th in passing yards per game.

Pierce benched Minshew for O’Connell in the third quarter of Sunday’s 34-18 loss to the Broncos after Minshew had thrown his second interception of the game. Minshew’s first interception took place in the end zone and was returned 100 yards by Patrick Surtain II for a pick 6. The Raiders had a chance to take a two-possession lead at the time of the first interception but instead found themselves in a 10-10 tie.

The Raiders trailed, 20-10 at the time of the quarterback switch. Minshew completed 12 of 17 passes on against the Broncos with one touchdown and the two interceptions.

O’Connell completed 10 of 20 passes for 94 yards with no touchdowns and an interception after replacing Minshew.

This is a breaking news story that will be updated.