Free agency cannot get here soon enough for Raiders QB Derek Carr

The Las Vegas Raiders have a very capable quarterback in Derek Carr, but entering Year No. 7, it seems like every free agent quarterback could replace him.

Derek Carr is entering his seventh season as the starting quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders, and by many accounts, the 2019 season was his best yet. Outside of 2016, where he was in the conversation of winning the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award, the 2019 campaign had to be seen as a positive one for him.

Carr completed 70 percent of his passes, threw for over 4,000 yards for the second straight season, and looked to have the team headed to the playoffs after the first ten games. Unfortunately for him, and the Raiders, the final six games of the season were a horror show, including him being booed out of the Coliseum.

In 2020, the Raiders make their move to the desert, and all the talk heading into the new campaign is whether or not Carr will be the quarterback for the team moving forward. Already this offseason he has been replaced by Tom Brady, Marcus Mariota, Ryan Tannehill, or even Philip Rivers, if you listen to all the talking heads out there.

Many people are clamoring for Brady to head to Vegas, but at 43-years old, is he really an improvement over Carr. Remember, he has been in Gruden’s system for two seasons, has mastered it, and led the team to a three-win improvement in 2019.

The knock on Carr has been the fact the team has gone backwards since making the playoffs following the 2016 season, and he has a losing record as the team’s starter. However, outside of a true WR1, the offense is set heading into 2020, and the real focus should be placed on one of the worst defenses in all of football.

As we inch closer to March 18, when players can actually start signing with new teams, you will hear every quarterback available linked to the Raiders if you log onto Twitter, or check out the multiple websites that cover the team. For now, it is still Carr’s show, and he has to be looking forward to just getting to Vegas, and concentrating on sending this team to the playoffs in their first season in Sin City.

Outside of maybe Brady, I do not see a quarterback that is better than Carr available this free agency period, and Gruden has never been one to roll with a rookie quarterback under center. Like it or not, Carr is likely to be the guy for the Raiders as they christen their new building in September, and hopefully, he can find that 2016 magic.