One of the more noteworthy moves of the Las Vegas Raiders' offseason was the signing of quarterback Gardner Minshew. Granted, it wasn't the big-time move Raiders fans were hoping for, but he does give the team another option at the quarterback position, along with Aidan O'Connell.
Minshew has proven to be quite the character over his five-year career, and that has made him a fan-favorite with multiple teams. Even in Las Vegas, fans have already fallen in love with his fun and unique personality.
But nothing Minshew has done at the professional level matches something he did in college. As Minshew recently detailed to The Athletic's Vic Tafur, he once tried to break his own hand to get an extra year of eligibility via medical redshirt while at East Carolina.
In order to achieve that, Minshew repeatedly hit his own hand with a hammer, using only a few shots of Jack Daniels to try and numb the pain. After nine hits with the hammer, Minshew was unsuccessful in breaking his hand and gave up.
“It’s not as easy as you might think to break your hand,” Minshew said. “It was really swollen for a couple of weeks, and when the coaches asked what the hell happened, I told them I slammed it in a door by mistake.”
Minshew finally revealed the truth about his injured hand years later before his senior year at Washington State when the late Mike Leach tasked each senior with addressing the team. Minshew used the story as an example of dedication.
“I told them what I did,” Minshew said. “And I was like, ‘That is what I would do for more football. What would you do? How much does this mean to you? Because it means everything to me.’”
Minshew, who was clearly an absolute madman, will try to lock down the Raiders' starting job in preseason Week 2, which head coach Antonio Pierce hinted might be the final showing for both quarterbacks before a decision comes down.