Oakland Raiders: Derek Carr getting a one-year audition?
All signs regarding the Oakland Raiders point to the team not giving up on Derek Carr, or at least they aren’t doing so without seeing him in 2019.
Perhaps one of the buzziest topics in the 2019 NFL offseason is the Oakland Raiders potentially taking Kyler Murray in the draft. Sure, the 2018 Heisman Trophy winner is a buzzworthy topic in himself, but it has been suggested plenty of times that Raiders head coach Jon Gruden and new general manager Mike Mayock could make a gigantic splash by taking him at No. 4 overall, or otherwise.
Having said that, everything that the Raiders brass has said to this point has been an endorsement of current starting quarterback Derek Carr. In fact, Mayock said at the end of February (per NFL.com) that he believed Carr, Oakland’s second-round pick in 2014, is a franchise quarterback.
That sentiment — though perhaps not as strongly — has been echoed time and again since Mayock took over the team. Moreover, the Raiders have been aggressive in helping the offense early in the 2019 offseason, trading for Antonio Brown and signing Trent Brown, Tyrell Williams and even J.J. Nelson.
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All of these signings could indeed be seen as the Raiders gearing up to bring in a rookie quarterback and put him in the best possible situation. At the same time, however, it could also be seen as Mayock and Gruden looking to give Carr a chance to succeed, something that you could argue that he did not have last season.
In the 2018 campaign as the Raiders struggled mightily, Carr’s ultimate lack of connection with Amari Cooper led to the receiver getting traded before the deadline. After that, the weapons were scarce in the Oakland offense, leaving Carr to target tight end Jared Cook more often than anyone else among the pass-catching options.
That won’t be the case given the moves made heading into 2018, however. With three big wide receiver additions in free agency and perhaps more coming in the NFL Draft, the Raiders passing game should have a substantially better opportunity to create explosive plays and also be more consistently productive.
While Gruden saw Carr for a year in 2018, Mayock has not. It’s perfectly reasonable that the new general manager would want to see the quarterback in place in a better situation before choosing to cut ties and go in a different direction. Plus, perhaps Gruden himself wants to see this better situation play out before making any kind of substantial change at quarterback.
As wild as the new Gruden era has been in Oakland thus far, to the point that nothing would be surprising, don’t buy into Murray fitting into that mold. The signs point towards Carr getting a justifiable opportunity to prove himself in the 2019 season, after which the Raiders will then assess their future of the position.
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And really, that’s the best option for many reasons. Not only is Murray a risk and not only does Carr deserve a chance in a viable offense, but the 2020 NFL Draft class is far stronger at quarterback than the 2019 group. Furthermore, the Raiders also have two first-round picks in the 2020 draft to trade up for their guy.
Carr can either prove himself or fall short in the 2019 season — the outcome is ultimately in his hands at this point. But giving him that opportunity and not rushing further into a complete restructure of the roster is undeniably the right move for Oakland.