Oakland Raiders: 5 Pressing questions for the 2018 season

Where Does Derek Carr Stand Among Franchise Quarterbacks?

We’ll continue to focus on a critical season for Carr. Where does he fall in the quarterback hierarchy? It’s a cloudy evaluation that juxtaposes the 27-year old’s best season in 2016 and a disappointing 2017 campaign. Is he the MVP-caliber passer from two years ago or does the regression say something more about his long-term outlook?

Of course, we have to acknowledge Carr broke multiple bones in his back and only missed one game last year. The transition from Bill Musgrave, who took a lot of criticism, to Downing proved costly as well.

At this juncture, the three-time Pro Bowler doesn’t have a valid excuse to underwhelm under center.

Despite his prolonged absence from the sideline, Gruden possesses 14 years of experience as an offensive coordinator and head coach in the NFL. Greg Olson returns to Oakland to work with Carr in a second stint with a decade of coordinator experience under his belt. Lastly, the team revamped its wide receiver corps, signing Jordy Nelson and acquiring Martavis Bryant via trade.

Gruden also intends to put Carr in position to run the offense, per Fresno Bee reporter Anthony Galaviz, “It will be more of a “green light” for Carr to change plays at the line of scrimmage this season,” the Raiders coach said.

With the experienced minds responsible for designing the offense, the offensive weapons on the perimeter and the controls at his fingertips, we’re going to see where Carr stands as a capable franchise quarterback.