Las Vegas Raiders: 3 Reasons Derek Carr is facing his last chance
Derek Carr could be in his final year with the Las Vegas Raiders if he doesn’t win.
Derek Carr has become something of a polarizing figure amongst Raider Nation. The Las Vegas Raiders quarterback has endured multiple head coaches, lousy rosters and franchise instability.
Despite that, the three-time Pro Bowler’s career numbers in terms of touchdown-interception ratio, passer rating and completion percentage are almost identical to the likes of Matt Ryan, Matt Stafford, and even Andrew Luck and Joe Montana.
The problem is, he hasn’t won. Due to all these factors, he’s kind of like the modern-day Archie Manning: great talent and good quarterback but just can’t win for reasons not always in his control.
The talent is certainly there, as evidenced by his near MVP season before an injury in 2016. However, Carr has been starting since his rookie year in 2014 with nary a playoff win. The NFL can stand for “Not For Long” so, other than the above, here are three reasons why the 2020 NFL season could be Carr’s last chance with the Raiders.
3. Raiders signing Marcus Mariota speaks volumes
Let’s just preface this by saying that Marcus Mariota is not better than Derek Carr. He’s just not. However, Carr finds himself in a situation similar to Mariota last year with the Tennessee Titans. Mariota is never going to beat out Carr for the starting job and it’s unlikely he’ll even replace him during the season, barring injury.
What the signing of Mariota does is attempt to light a fire under Carr to go out there and perform the way he is capable of. Anytime someone is brought in behind a starter to yip at their heels, it should bring out the best in that starter if they’re a competitor. That pressure should lead to fire and motivation to do better.
Sure, signing Mariota provides the Raiders with a great backup to have if Carr, a quarterback with injury history, goes down. What his signing also did is send a message to Carr that, if it doesn’t work out this year, he may be replaced next season. It doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll be by Mariota but replaced nonetheless.