Raiders decision imminent on starting QB; Patriots, Steelers still have questions

With one week of NFL preseason in the books, coaches have gotten a look at their rosters in game action and decisions on starters have started to crystallize. 

Five teams entered training camp without a top choice for the quarterback position. Here's a look at how those battles are shaking out across the NFL.

Las Vegas Raiders

Antonio Pierce is entering his first season as the full-time head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, after holding the position on an interim basis for the second half of last year.

The key choice for the former NFL linebacker is which of Gardner Minshew or Aidan O'Connell will hold the reins of the offence in this campaign.

"I thought both guys were efficient," Pierce said after the team's 24-23 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday. "There was some opportunities that Minshew made down the field that was really good ... when it's a clean pocket, man, you can see what this offense could be with both guys.

"But I thought they really did a good job of the operations. We did have one delay of game [penalty] with Gardner that we need to clean up, but I thought Aidan did a really good job from being backed up down in the red zone. And Gardner, two-minute drill. Everything we wanted to get out of preseason [Game 1], we got."

O'Connell completed 7 of 9 passes for 76 yards in one drive of work that ended with a field goal. Minshew finished 6 of 12 for 117 yards and a touchdown in three drives of work. 

Minshew has made 37 starts in his five years with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts, while O'Connell went 5-5 as a starter last year with Las Vegas as a rookie.

Pierce is prepared to make his choice after the team's second game, which will take place on August 17 against the Dallas Cowboys. 

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers qualified for the playoffs last season as the seventh seed in the AFC despite poor quarterback play that ranked the team 25th in passing yards and 30th in passing touchdowns.

In an effort to shore up that weakness, they acquired veteran QBs Justin Fields (traded for a sixth-round draft pick) and Russell Wilson (signed to a veteran-minimum deal worth $1.21 million). The two are locked in a battle to lead Pittsburgh in an effort to return to the playoffs.

The position battle hasn't started well for either player. Fields was the starter for their 20-12 loss to the Houston Texans in their preseason opener, and he had a sloppy outing - fumbling two snaps from the centre on the first two drives.

"I thought he did some nice things," coach Mike Tomlin said. "But obviously he was a component of the C-Q exchange, and from my perspective that's dual responsibility on the centre and the quarterback. It negated a lot of good things going on in those first couple of drives."

Fields played for three series, completing 5 of 6 attempts for 67 yards, but in addition to the fumbles he was sacked twice.

Wilson, meanwhile, was not active for the opener as he continues to work through a calf injury suffered at the beginning of camp. Tomlin said he expects Wilson to be in action in their second game of the preseason, against the Buffalo Bills.

Tomlin has previously said that Wilson has the “pole position” for the starting job, but he still categorized it as a quarterback competition.

Wilson, 35, is a nine-time Pro Bowler and won Super Bowl 48 with the Seattle Seahawks. Fields made 38 starts for the Chicago Bears since being drafted 11th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings selected their quarterback of the future, J.J. McCarthy, with the 10th overall pick in the NFL Draft in April. They also signed veteran Sam Darnold after the departure of Kirk Cousins, making this a bit more of a traditional QB battle.

Darnold started their preseason opener against the Raiders, and completed 4 of 8 passes for 59 yards. McCarthy got extensive action afterwards, and was impressive - completing 11 of 17 passes for 188 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

His interception was a poorly-thrown ball on his first drive that was easily caught by Raiders DB Jack Jones, but the team was encouraged by how McCarthy was able to bounce back.

"Clearly, everybody can see the arm talent," head coach Kevin O'Connell said. "I just love seeing him come right back after the interception, still be aggressive and still stay true to footwork, timing, rhythm, where his eyes should be.”

Talk out of camp to this point, from coaches and teammates, has been that Darnold is expected to be the starter early on as McCarthy continues to get more comfortable with the NFL level.

"They're both different types of quarterbacks," receiver Justin Jefferson said. "Sam is more of a vet quarterback. He likes to put touch on the ball here and there. He knows what speed he needs to throw the ball and how he needs to throw the ball. J.J. is still young and wants to rip it all the time."

Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos have three quarterbacks in the running for the starting job, though one may have taken the lead after a strong performance in their preseason opener.

Veterans Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson have the experience, but 12th overall pick Bo Nix, out of Oregon, was the strongest performer in their 34-30 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

Stidham got the start and threw for 37 yards and an interception, while Nix got the second turn and completed 15 of 21 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown. Wilson played the second half and threw for 117 yards on 10 of 13 completions.

Head coach Sean Payton did not single out any of the three for their performances after the game though. "All three of those guys did a good job,'' Payton said. "There's certain settings you get a little bit more information on. ... I'm going to go past the quarterbacks, all these guys, you get a little more insight.''

Payton was more concerned with the pace of the offence - something he felt was a major issue last season with Russell Wilson. 

As for Nix, he was encouraged by his performance, and is slated to get the start in their next game, which is against the Green Bay Packers. "Overall if felt good to get out there and throw some completions ... just get out there and compete,'' Nix said.

Wilson is the elder of the three in terms of NFL experience, with 33 starts in the past three seasons with the New York Jets since being selected second overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, but he has 23 career passing touchdowns against 25 interceptions. 

New England Patriots

Even though the New England Patriots selected Drake Maye third overall in this year's draft, his usage thus far in camp and what has been said about him by the coaching staff doesn't indicate he is a lock to open the season as the starter.

In their preseason opener - a 17-3 victory against the Carolina Panthers - Maye played just seven snaps, completing 2 of 3 passes for 19 yards. Veterans Bailey Zappe and Jacoby Brissett are also in the running to be named the Week 1 starter for New England.

"Each of these quarterbacks has an individual development plan that I've gone over with [offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt] and the rest of his staff, and we're sticking to that plan until it's time to change," head coach Jerod Mayo said.

Like with the Raiders, Week 2 of the preseason has been highlighted by Mayo as the most important week for how the QB position will look in the regular season.

"This is a huge week for everyone to practice against the Philadelphia Eagles and then really we'll see how the reps kind of break down in the game," Mayo said. "I expect Drake to get more reps than he did in the first game against the Eagles."

Brissett, 31, has bounced around the league throughout his nine-year career, including stops with New England, the Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns and Washington Commanders. He has started 48 games and thrown for 51 touchdowns against 23 interceptions.

Since 2000, the only quarterbacks selected in the top five of their respective drafts that didn't start a game as a rookie were Carson Palmer (selected first overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2003) and Philip Rivers (fourth overall, San Diego Chargers in 2004).