Who Should I Start? Gardner Minshew or Brock Bowers

Thursday, November 28, 1:02 PM

The Las Vegas Raiders have placed quarterback Gardner Minshew II (collarbone) on injured reserve. Given that Minshew has already been ruled out for the remainder of the 2024 season, this is merely a procedural move. He finishes his age-28 campaign having completed 203 of 306 passes for 2,013 yards, nine touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He also took 29 sacks and lost four fumbles. It's been a sloppy year under center for the Raiders, who have given snaps to Minshew, Aidan O'Connell, and Desmond Ridder. Moving forward, Vegas intends to start O'Connell, whom they activated from injured reserve on Thursday. However, he's expected to be on a short leash with Ridder waiting in the wing.

Saturday, December 21, 2:58 AM

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers will face the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 16. They have one of the worst pass defenses in the last 25 years in terms of passing Expected Points Added per play allowed. That statistic attempts to measure how impactful each play is for the opposing offense. JAX thus allows a ton of big and crucial plays, and does that often. With the team's QB1, Aidan O'Connell (knee) set to return from injury, Bowers will have his preferred signal-caller back in the lineup, and should be fed a healthy dose of targets. This will be another chance for the stellar rookie to shine, and fantasy managers should not leave him out of their lineups in any leagues with tight end slots in starting lineups. He should be started in all leagues this week, as he's primed for a monster game.