Raiders lack of success could cost them the ideal Gardner Minshew replacement

The New York Giants parted ways with quarterback Daniel Jones after he requested his release on Friday. The former first-round pick cleared waivers on Monday at 4 p.m. ET, and he's now a free agent who can sign with any team.

Jones could pick his new team "as early as " Monday,NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported on Monday. Rapoport named the San Francisco 49ers, Baltimore Ravens and Las Vegas Raiders as potential destinations, and all three options present different opportunities for the embattled quarterback.

"There are some intriguing options," Rapoport said. "The 49ers if Brock Purdy's injury is maybe worse than they thought. The Ravens if he wants to jump onboard and be their backup quarterback, potentially, eventually. Or the Raiders would be a team [where] he could come in, play immediately, and have his audition, essentially, for the 2025 offseason."

While the Raiders may seem like the obvious answer, they likely wouldn't be the wisest choice. After years of suffering with a middling roster in New York, it's hard to imagine Jones would want to head to Las Vegas, where he'd be surrounding by an equally underwhelming offense. The Raiders may offer playing time, but they certainly don't offer any stability, security, or upside. Plus, a report from ESPN's Adam Schefter revealed that Jones wants to join a playoff contender. In the long-term, the Ravens and Niners offer better opportunity for development.

Daniel Jones to the Raiders isn't a good idea for either side

The Raiders fell to a 2-9 record after their seventh consecutive loss on Sunday, but that should have been expected when the team entered the season with second-year quarterback Aidan O'Connell and journeyman veteran Gardner Minshew II as their only viable options. Could it get any worse? Absolutely. Minshew suffered a season-ending collarbone injury, leaving Las Vegas with nearly nowhere to turn.

Still, signing Jones doesn't make much long-term sense for the Raiders either. Many of the Raiders' problems could be cured with a capable quarterback to carry the franchise to some wins, but they'd probably prefer to lose for now.

The Raiders are currently in a three-way tie for last place in the standings — or, put another way, they're in a three-way tie for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. If they signed Jones and won some games, Las Vegas would be in danger of losing out on drafting a franchise quarterback once again.

The Raiders would have preferred to select a new franchise quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft, but — of course — that didn't work out either. In any other year, the No. 13 overall pick would have been more than enough to land one of the top quarterback prospects. In 2024, it was just out of reach.

There were six first-round quarterback prospects in the draft class, and the Denver Broncos took the last one available at No. 12, Bo Nix. On Sunday, that rookie quarterback led the Broncos to a 29-19 win over the Raiders. That's not a position the Raiders want to be in again. Signing Jones right now would only cause more headaches in the future.

Then again, nothing works out how the Raiders hope. The magical reunion between quarterback Derek Carr and wide receiver Davante Adams was short-lived. Moving on from interim head coach Rich Bisaccia was potentially a mistake. The offensive resurgence with head coach Josh McDaniels never happened. Keeping interim head coach Antonio Pierce to make up for the Bisaccia decision hasn't atoned for any prior sins in Las Vegas.

At this point, they may be doomed no matter what they decide to do.