Oakland Raiders Depth Chart Projections: Quarterback

Jun 17, 2014; Alameda, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) throws a pass at minicamp at Raiders Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

#2. Derek Carr 

Some feel that Derek Carr is ready to be a starting quarterback in the NFL right away, but leading into Training Camp all signs are continuing to point to Carr starting his career learning from the sidelines as general manager Reggie McKenzie made the move for Matt Schaub with the possibility of grooming a draft pick behind the veteran in mind. Something that worked out very well for his former employer in the Green Bay Packers when a talented California quarterback named Aaron Rodgers fell to the Packers when McKenzie was still awaiting his chance at a GM job.

That doesn’t mean that Carr has no chance of seeing the field during the regular season, but despite impressing almost everyone during Rookie Minicamp and OTA’s leading to considerable excitement around Carr to start off training camp fans should expect to see Carr in the backup role throughout the summer and leading into Week One unless Schaub pulls a Matt Flynn and is so terrible that the Raiders have no choice but to go with their rookie or second year quarterback Matt McGloin in Schaub’s place.

Carr’s playing time will be entirely determined by the play of Schaub going into the regular season, but that doesn’t mean that Raiders fans won’t have plenty of opportunity to evaluate his talent during the summer as Carr has been taking more and more of the backup reps from McGloin and should get more than his share of preseason experience. That is the only given heading into 2014 for Carr however as when it comes to the rookie his long future ahead of him makes this process a wait and see approach.

Should Carr start in 2014 the season will likely already be heading towards failure as fans should expect the team to give Schaub as much of a shot as possible, and at the very least until after the bye week following the London game, to prove that he is still a quality starter in this league. Given the fact that a motivated Schaub is coming into a more positive situation the odds are that he will be at least decent enough to fill the role for a year, making it likely that we will all have to wait for the potential of Carr to be seen in NFL regular season action. Which is perhaps for the best as the team grooms their franchise quarterback, hopefully consistency in Carr’s development will happen and the team will finally have their franchise quarterback they deserve after years of shoddy play.