Another day, another quarterback rumor for the Las Vegas Raiders
By Brad Weiss
When it comes to the Las Vegas Raiders, most of the news surrounding the team revolves around Derek Carr, and the rumors continue to roll in.
Derek Carr is entering his seventh season as the starting quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders, and it seems like everyday, there is another rumor pushing him out the door. Whether the Raiders are going to draft his successor, or trade him away, Carr has dominated the headlines since being booed off the field in the team’s last home game in Oakland.
Only days after Jon Gruden told the Las Vegas Review Journal how much he loves Carr, the team now appears to be in the market to use one of their first round picks on a signal-caller, according to Vic Tafur of The Athletic. For a team with so many needs, and who has backed their current starter, it would make no sense for them to use such a premium pick on the quarterback position.
Now, if the Raiders are definitely moving on from Carr, then it makes sense, as there are some solid options they could get in middle of the first round, or even if they trade down into the second. Players like Utah State’s Jordan Love and Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts have been dominating the draft season, and the Raiders had their scouts at the Sooners’ Pro Day this week.
Ryan Heckman, a writer for DaWindyCity also wrote that the team is in talks with the Chicago Bears to trade away Carr. That trade would reunite Carr with his best friend, Khalil Mack, who I am sure would like nothing more than to have his old friend under center for a team that has playoff aspirations in 2020.
With the legal tampering period slated to start on Monday, and the new league year officially kicking off on Wednesday, it is going to be an interesting week for the Raiders.
In terms of Carr, he is coming off another solid statistical season under Gruden, where he once again threw for over 4,000 yards, and had a 21-to-8 touchdowns to interception ratio. In addition, he finished only behind New Orleans Saints legend Drew Brees in completion percentage.
The only thing we truly know is that Gruden has shown love for players before, and then sent them packing, like he did with Amari Cooper a few years ago. Nobody knows what he is going to do in terms of Carr, but the company line has been that they love him, and plan to build around him, much like he spoke of the passing game in terms of Cooper back in 2018.