Business indecision: 3 QB trades Raiders should make to bench Gardner Minshew

Despite plenty of chatter and indecision around Gardner Minshew's status moving forward, the Las Vegas Raiders are sticking by him for now. Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce made a striking statement when he said some players made 'business decisions' not to put forth their best effort in a loss to the Carolina Panthers.

Minshew's stats aren't exactly horrible -- he has as many touchdowns as interceptions through three games, and a 92.4 rating to go along with it -- but he's very clearly not the long-term answer in Vegas. Neither is O'Connell, for what it's worth. Minshew is filler, and the Raiders need to, at some point, find their quarterback of the future.

Vegas plays in one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL, on the surface. The Chiefs own the AFC West, but the Los Angeles Chargers feature Justin Herbert, and the Denver Broncos hope they found their answer in Bo Nix. The Raiders are stuck in the middle, which is not a good place to be in the modern NFL landscape, especially not when they have to play Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs twice a year.

The hard truth is not every quarterback the Raiders can acquire will give them a true path forward. However, with Davante Adams on the outside and a capable rushing attack at its best, surely they can at least do better in 2024.

Raiders can trade for Mr. Inactive to replace Gardner Minshew

If the Raiders hope to upgrade their present situation, they ought to give the Pittsburgh Steelers a call. The Steelers signed Russell Wilson for dirt cheap this offseason with the hope he would be able to lead a defensively-driven team to the postseason. However, with the emergence of a younger Justin Fields over the past three weeks, they don't have any need for the aging Wilson.

Russ is still a capable starter in this league. He proved that last season in Denver, despite all the sacks and money drama. Providing him an opportunity to go head-to-head against those Broncos is a chance he'd love to have. Frankly, it wouldn't cost the Raiders all that much to add him to their QB room.

If a fifth seems steep, perhaps the Raiders could send a sixth and seventh to Pittsburgh in exchange for Wilson instead. The Steelers would take that in a heartbeat, especially with a healthy Fields in tow.

Raiders can take a flyer on a Packers QB who is no longer needed

Jordan Love is expected to return in the next few weeks. If the Raiders prefer to add a young quarterback with potential, they should look no further than his backup, Malik Willis, who has balled out in Love's absence.

Look, the Packers will not want to part ways with Willis because their QB room is a mess behind Love. Sean Clifford ain't it, but perhaps a package involving Minshew could get the job done. Here's what I'm thinking.

I'm not a complete idiot, I promise. Odds are there would need to be some picks exchanged as well, or perhaps even conditions placed on those selections. However, the idea here still works. Minshew is a veteran who the Packers can count on in Love's absence. He hasn't performed that poorly the last few weeks.

As for Willis, he impressed Matt LaFleur a ton the last few weeks and just beat his former team in Tennessee. The Packers could sell high and get a proven backup in return.

Paging Bryce Young! Raiders can get a steal

The Panthers claim they don't want to trade Bryce Young, but perhaps the Raiders can force their hand while his stock is low. The Panthers rolled into Vegas last Sunday and dominated the Raiders defense with Andy Dalton at the helm. Dalton will eventually regress to, well, expected Red Rifle lows. However, it's clear the Panthers locker room prefers the vet to the second-year Alabama product who has done nothing but regress since he arrived in Carolina.

Vegas isn't a great franchise by any means, but they're a step in the right direction for Young. He'd have a clear path to starting once again and -- should that work well -- the Raiders could avoid selecting another young QB with their first-round pick in what's considered a weak class at the position in 2025.

The price seems steep given what we've seen from Young so far in his brief NFL career, but he was the No. 1 pick just two years ago for a reason. If the Raiders can protect him (something the Panthers failed to do), he has the weapons to succeed in Vegas. It's worth a call, at least.