Raiders' Gardner Minshew Benched for Desmond Ridder Amid Struggles vs. Bengals

After trailing the Cincinnati Bengals by 21 points on Sunday, the Las Vegas Raiders made a quarterback change.

Gardner Minshew opened the game under center for Las Vegas but he was benched and replaced by Desmond Ridder in the third quarter, per Tashan Reed of The Athletic.

Ridder made his second appearance of the season. He previously started 13 games for the Atlanta Falcons in 2023, finishing with a record of 6-7 as part of the first-string offense.

Minshew struggled to help the Raiders' offense sustain drives throughout the first half. He finished 10-of-17 for 124 yards without a touchdown or an interception.

The 28-year-old started in Las Vegas' first five games of the season, but he was benched on two occasions during that span before head coach Antonio Pierce made the decision to insert Aidan O'Connell as his full-time replacement.

The change didn't last long, with O'Connell suffering a thumb fracture on Oct. 20 that landed him on injured reserve. Minshew looked better in his return against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8, but the Raiders still lost their fourth consecutive game.

Entering Sunday's action, he completed 67.6 percent of his throws for 1,377 yards and six touchdowns to go along with eight interceptions. Minshew signed a two-year contract worth $25 million with the Raiders in March after earning the first Pro Bowl nod of his career on the Indianapolis Colts in 2023, but he hasn't excelled with the change of scenery.

Las Vegas already owned the seventh-worst scoring offense in the NFL prior to Sunday's loss while the team's average of 288.1 total yards per game was the fifth-worst mark in the league.

As for Ridder, he completed eight of his first 12 passes for 39 yards after entering the game.

Pierce will have another decision to make regarding the Raiders' starting quarterback following their Week 10 bye.