Antonio Pierce’s hands are tied when it comes to benching Gardner Minshew

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew will remain the starter in Week 12. For better or worse, the team will roll with the veteran journeyman for at least one more game, though it may not be by choice.

Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce confirmed that Minshew will be under center for Las Vegas' upcoming clash with the Denver Broncos. However, as ESPN's Paul Gutierrez points out, the alternative signal-caller — Aidan O'Connell — isn't eligible to return from injured reserve (IR) until next week.

Whether Pierce would be singing a different tune if O'Connell were healthy and ready to go remains unclear. Alas, Minshew will have at least one more opportunity to put the speculation to bed and maintain his spot atop the depth chart.

Antonio Pierce has no choice but to start Gardner Minshew in Week 12 with Aidan O'Connell still on IR

O'Connell broke the thumb to his throwing (right) hand in the Raiders' Week 7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. He replaced Minshew in the lineup in Las Vegas' prior contest, only to have his chance cut short by injury. Since then, the latter's position has been unchallenged despite his struggles.

Minshew posted another mediocre outing in Las Vegas' 34-19 defeat at the hands of the Miami Dolphins in Week 11. He completed 30-of-43 passes (69.8 percent) for 282 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, taking three sacks for a loss of 14 yards. Moreover, the 28-year-old's paltry 6.6 yards per attempt was lower than his 26th-ranked rate for the season (6.8).

Regardless of Minshew's shortcomings, O'Connell isn't available to even give Pierce the option to bench him. The Raiders sideline general hasn't shown a willingness to turn to incumbent backup Desmond Ridder, which will continue to be the case against the Broncos.

The Raiders signed Ridder from the Arizona Cardinals practice squad on Oct. 22 in response to O'Connell's IR stint, but he's been used sparingly. The 2022 third-round pick has appeared in two games, completing 11-of-16 passes for 74 yards and a touchdown.

Nonetheless, Ridder is ostensibly serving as a placeholder until O'Connell's recovery, meaning the Raiders will presumably stick with Minshew for the foreseeable future.