NFL Rumors: Gardner Minshew signing stops Raiders from pursuing surprise QB reunion

The Las Vegas Raiders aren't going to run it back with Jimmy Garoppolo and Aiden O'Connell as their only quarterback options in 2024.

On Monday, the Raiders came to an agreement with Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew on a two-year, $25 million deal, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

But they might have gone a different direction, according to Vic Tafur of The Athletic.

"As the market shrivels up for Justin Fields, Raiders kicking the tires on a possible reunion with offensive coordinator Luke Getsy," Tafur tweeted on Monday afternoon with the first day of the NFL's free agency tampering period in full swing.

Later, Tafur revealed that it was to be Minshew "instead" of Fields.

Raiders bet on Gardner Minshew over Justin Fields

Whatever leg work Las Vegas did on the Fields front, they came away feeling that Minshew was more worth a contract than Fields a trade.

Perhaps they reacted the same way to the Bears' trade demands as seemingly every other suitor for the former first-round pick. Mac Jones going to the Jaguars for a sixth-round pick would suggest the going rate for Fields isn't as high as Chicago would have hoped. Perhaps the connection to new offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, who coached Fields with the Bears, wasn't enough to convince Mark Davis to take the risk.

Minshew's ceiling isn't nearly as high as Fields' but he has solid starting experience and is likely to fit perfectly with the competitive locker room spirit Antonio Pierce is hoping to keep building in Las Vegas. And he's a suitable stop-gap option at worst, whereas Fields would require draft capital to acquire.

While the team will hold a quarterback competition between Minshew and O'Connell, anyone who is the least bit familiar with Minshew knows he's joining the silver and black with an eye on starting. He went 7-6 while filling in for Anthony Richardson in Indianapolis last season, throwing 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions while posting a quarterback rating of 84.6.

The Raiders still have to decide what to do with Garoppolo but his future in Las Vegas doesn't look particularly bright. He looks ripe to be released as the team looks to create more cap room this offseason.