Oakland Raiders: Jon Gruden calls Derek Carr an excellent quarterback

For all the noise surrounding Derek Carr and the Oakland Raiders, head coach Jon Gruden certainly seems to be behind him heading into 2019.

The Oakland Raiders brought in a bunch of talent on offense this offseason, including arguably the best wide receiver in football in Antonio Brown. During most of the offseason leading up until the 2019 NFL Draft, the talk was that the team would move on from quarterback Derek Carr, but hopefully the team put that to rest.

Speaking at his press conference to kick off the 2019 training camp schedule for the Raiders, head coach Jon Gruden took to the stand to talk about his team heading into Year 2 of his return to the sidelines. He spoke on a number of topics, and of course, his quarterback came up during the questioning.

Gruden was bullish on Carr, not only calling him a great leader, and someone who has done a phenomenal job learning the offense, but also calling him an “excellent quarterback.” That is high praise for the sixth-year starter as he enters came, where the Raiders are looking to have a lot less drama, and really grow as a team.

There is no doubt that this is a big year for Carr, who passed for over 4,000 yards for the first time in his NFL career in a lost 2018 season. The fact of the matter is, this is only the second time he is entering a season with the same offense, and the last time he did that, he nearly won the NFL’s Most Valuable Player Award back in 2016.

With improved tackles, and a much better wide receiver group, Carr should have the time, and the weapons to go back to his 2016 form in 2019. In addition, rookie Josh Jacobs is that do-everything back that this team has been lacking, so that is another dangerous threat coming out of the backfield.

Hopefully, all the noise surrounding the Carr and Gruden relationship can be put to rest, as the Raiders look to go back to being a threat in the AFC West. For two guys who people felt would not get along, they certainly looked chummy on Friday, and that is certainly good news for Raider Nation as this franchise moves forward.