The Las Vegas Raiders lost to the Denver Broncos on Sunday, sinking further to 2-9 on the season.
Near the end of the game, the Raiders lost quarterback Gardner Minshew with an apparent shoulder injury. Now, things look even more bitter. It has been confirmed that Minshew suffered a broken collarbone and will be out for the rest of the season.
Head coach Antonio Pierce had said during his post-game presser that the injury didn't look good, as did Minshew's future. The quarterback was 25 of 42 with 230 yards and a touchdown and interception at the time he went down with the injury.
Desmond Ridder, acquired this season, stepped in to finish out the rest of the game and even lead the Silver and Black on a long drive late in the game for a touchdown.
Going forward, the Raiders will be able to turn to Ridder or Aidan O'Connell. O'Connell might be available to play on Friday against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Minshew's injury greatly narrows Pierce's options and with a 2-9 record, there is will be no controversy as to who should be starting at quarterback for the Raiders.
Pierce's Silver and Black have dealt with injuries all season and coupled with a 2-9 record, things look bleak. Nonetheless, we have an idea on how Pierce himself will respond. He gave a telling answer about that earlier this week:
"Just got to work. Be consistent. Come to work every day. Continue to get better. The word I said last week was no different out of the bye week was improvement, looking for improvement. That's happening. Again, it's happening in practice, but obviously we’ve got to put it on paper come Sundays. But that's the word we're talking about. A lot of young players playing, more opportunities there. So, between improvement, opportunities and process, which is a word that nobody likes to talk about but it’s the truth and it’s where we are at right now. Just really building on those."
