When you have someone like Tom Brady in the front office calling all the shots (clearly not a minority owner, as the papers say)—you can’t accept mediocrity, at least where he used to play. Like someone of Brady’s aura, watching the Raiders cycle from one QB to another to end up finishing 4-13 was never going to end well. There are bound to be consequences when you can’t meet the expectations of GOAT. With that being said, the Raiders are likely to make their first major decision to start retooling QB room. And the first casualty is someone who was supposed to be their solution—but turned into an abject failure.

Yes, I am talking about none other than Raiders’ $25M QB Gardner Minshew. As per The Athletic, Minshew is a candidate to be released this offseason with 1 year left on his deal. Surprising? Not really. To be very honest, the way Minshew played, he actually never wanted to be a starter QB, anyway. For most of the season, he was engaged in a battle with Aidan O’Connell on who was going to lose his place first. Like it got to a point where then-Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce got fed up and said, “I wish it had ended well for both gentleman, and it just didn’t.” Or so it seems, Minshew is the winner on who’s the worst QB. Wait a minute—actually not worst—he was horrible.

Playing in 10 games last season, Minshew compiled a record of 2-7 as a starter. Never in their nightmares could the Raiders have predicted someone whom they signed with a $15M guarantee in his contract would end up throwing more INTs (10) than TDs (9). Like I said, horrible. Minshew only threw for 2,013 passing yards with a 66.3 pass-completion percentage. He never showed any signs of being a starter, and come week 12, his season ended. A Cody Barton tackle shattered Minshew’s collarbone and ended his one and only season as a Raider.

By cutting him off immediately, the Raiders will take a cap hit of $7.66M, albeit saving $6.34M. However, there’s also $3M and $1.5M in dead money cap hits in 2026 and 2027 with Minshew’s departure. Signed with the hopes of helping the Raiders stay competitive in a tough AFC West, Mindshew ended up doing more damage than repair. So, with the Raiders desperately trying to find a QB, it seems they have just received a warning. Listening to it could actually do more good than bad for the Raiders at this point.

Raiders asked not to aggressively pursue Shedeur Sanders

Remember when Shedeur Sanders shared a shot of Allegiant Stadium, captioning it, “Legendary.” Well, that must have given butterflies to the Raiders Nation while thinking about the possibility of Sanders wearing silver and black next season. Like he has all the traits of becoming an instant superstar in Vegas. Sanders is coming off an incredible last season in Colorado, completing 74% of his passes while racking up 318 yards per game.

The numbers are there to back Sanders’ strong claim in this year’s NFL draft. He is almost certain to be picked high with the Titans, Browns and Giants hovering. Yes, the Raiders may not even get a sniff of Sanders before he is already off the board. Only a possibility of a major draft sacrifice can help them sign Sanders.

And that’s the exact thing former NFL QB Matt Hasselbeck doesn’t want. “I don’t like it because of the amount that it would take to move up. A lot of people saying he could end up being No.1 overall—to move that much is way too much, even if you’re moving two or three spots up.” Like Hasselbeck does have a point. See, the Raiders are in a rebuild, and they need all the draft capital they can have to field a strong roster. Going all in on a QB while failing to fill the gaps elsewhere could be a suicide. And that would be the last thing Tom Brady would want in his first year as an NFL owner.