Oakland Raiders: 3 Reasons they won’t finish last in the AFC West
By Steve Rivera
3. Another year of familiarity with Gruden and Carr
Gruden may finally be at peace with his quarterback Derek Carr. For fans in Oakland, that may be a relief. At the very least, with a just-concluded draft that presented the opportunity to go in a different direction, the Raiders stuck with who they have under center.
More from NFL Spin Zone
- Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
- Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
- Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
- Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
- Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens
That, in and of itself, may be the biggest and best news for a coach who seemed skeptical of his first string signal caller. It is also a good omen for the second season under Gruden.
It seemed that, if the Raiders were going to put Carr on a short leash in 2019, a quarterback selection with the fourth pick would have happened. It didn’t. And that may have been the first solid indicator that Oakland would be all in on Carr.
For the Raiders not to be a contender to finish in the AFC West cellar meant that the status quo needed to hold at the quarterback position. As up and down as Gruden can be, especially with quarterbacks, sticking with Carr is a good sign for this season. Had he gone a different direction, a reasonable argument could have been made that the Raiders were simply waiting to get to Las Vegas.
Fans who settle in for the last season in Oakland will have a good product to watch. The Raiders with Carr and newly acquired target Antonio Brown will be a good show, which means moving beyond four wins is more than likely.