The 2016 NFL season seems like forever ago, but the Oakland Raiders have revamped this roster, and Derek Carr should benefit in a big way.
For the Oakland Raiders, the franchise has been to the playoffs only once since 2002, a 2016 showing in the Wild Card round. Unfortunately, during that playoff game, the Silver and Black were without franchise quarterback Derek Carr, who broke his leg in a Christmas Eve matchup against the Indianapolis Colts.
Since breaking his leg, this franchise has been on a downward trend, winning only six games in 2017, and then only four more in 2018. During that time, the rumors have swirled that Carr may not be the right guy to lead this franchise as they head to Las Vegas, but those are could not be more wrong.
In fact, Carr is the perfect quarterback, and person to lead this organization into it’s next era of football, and it will all start in 2019, their likely last in the Bay Area. During this offseason, general manager Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden have done a nice job building this roster around Carr, giving him quite a group of weapons to work with.
Last season, Carr’s first in Gruden’s offense, the signal-caller threw for 4,000 yards for the first time in his career, while completing nearly 70 percent of his passes. He did all of that despite the fact he was running for his life all season long, and had very little weapons to choose from in the passing game.
Heading into year No. 2 in Gruden’s offense, Carr is on the brink of having a breakout season, and NFL.com’s Adam Schein feels he could return to his MVP form. During that 2016 season that ended in injury, Carr had established himself as one of the better quarterbacks in the league, and he will be out to prove he is still that this upcoming season.
The fact is, Carr has the best wideouts he has ever had, and he has a collection of talent at that position that does different things well. In addition, the Raiders spent big money on another tackle this offseason, while also bolstering the defense, making this a much better roster overall.
If you ask me, Schein is right, as Carr is going to be the big beneficiary of all of Mayock and Gruden’s moves this offseason. He has shown that he can produce at the highest of levels, and with the best weapons he has ever had, do not be surprised if Carr has the best season of his professional career in 2019.