With all the noise surrounding the team moving on from Derek Carr, the Las Vegas Raiders did the opposite, surrounding him with talent.
It has been six years since the then-Oakland Raiders selected Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft. The brother of a former No. 1 overall selection, Carr entered the league with high expectations, but was supposed to learn under Matt Schaub as a rookie.
Instead, Carr took the reins as a rookie, earning the starting job for the team’s Week 1 matchup on the road against the New York Jets, a game I just happened to be at. Since then, Carr has put his stamp on the franchise’s record book, but outside of a 12-3 record before getting hurt in 2016, the losses have been mounting.
You can choose any reason why this has happened, whether it has been inconsistency at head coach and offensive coordinator, the team moving on from his weapons, or some believe he just is not a winning quarterback back. In 2018, Jon Gruden returned as head coach, and while the noise has been that the team would move on from Carr, that has not happened yet.
Moving into a new city, new stadium, and with high expectations in 2020, Carr has to put his best season together if he wants to remain at the helm of the franchise. One thing is for sure, this offseason was the best-case scenario for Carr entering his seventh season as the starter.
Las Vegas Raiders took care of Derek Carr this offseason
A Real Backup
Since overtaking Schaub as the starter as a rookie, Carr has really not had to look over his shoulder, as all of his backups have had no real chance to beat him out for the job. In fact, heading into 2020, even his current backup is not going to unseat him, but for the first time, Carr has someone who could challenge him for the job if he falters.
Marcus Mariota is a former No. 2 overall pick, and has a resume that makes him the best No. 2 the Raiders have had behind Carr. Mariota has a career record that is only three games below .500 as a starter, his touchdown to interception ratio is 76 to 44, and he has not only beaten Kansas City, but has done so on the road in the playoffs.
The rise of Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee last season spelled the end of Mariota’s run with the Titans, but he is still only 26-years old, and Mayock is intent on fixing his issues. If anything else, the Raiders have a guy who can come in and win games if Carr gets injured, and more importantly, if somehow he takes a step backwards in Year 7.
Las Vegas Raiders took care of Derek Carr this offseason
Revamped Wide Receiver Group
During the 2019 NFL season, Carr threw for a career-high 4,054 yards, while finishing only behind Drew Brees in terms of completion percentage with a 70.4 mark. More impressively, he was able to accomplish that despite the fact he lost his No. 1 wideout, Tyrell Williams, early in the season, and had to rely on a hodgepodge of guys down the stretch.
Luckily for Carr, he had an emerging tight end in Darren Waller, who hauled in 90 catches, and his rookie running back should have run away with the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. In addition, rookie wideout Hunter Renfrow posted back-to-back 100-yard games at the end of the season, and when healthy, Williams proved he can find the end zone consistently.
Still, Mayock set out to improve the wideout group this offseason, adding Nelson Agholor via free agency, and then hitting it big with Henry Ruggs III and Bryan Edwards in the 2020 NFL Draft. Now, looking at the wideout group, this is a position that went from a need to a strength, giving Carr more weapons than he has ever had in the passing game.
Las Vegas Raiders took care of Derek Carr this offseason
Bringing back the Offensive Line
There was a lot of talk surrounding Raiders right guard Gabe Jackson this offseason, and whether or not the team would pay him his $9.35 million salary. If they had cut him, they could have had a $0 cap penalty, but instead of moving on, they let his salary become guaranteed, which means he will once again he help protect Carr in 2020.
With Jackson coming back, and Richie Incognito signing a two-year extension, the entire starting five up front for Carr is back this season. That kind of consistency, and cohesiveness should give Carr the time, and confidence to stand in the pocket and deliver the ball downfield to some of his new weapons on the outside.
Rodney Hudson is arguably the best center in football, and tackles Trent Brown and Kolton Miller formed quite the duo in 2020, as Miller took a big step forward and Brown was a Pro Bowler. Carr got his whole line back for the upcoming season, and they have some talented depth behind them, so the expectation is that he should be kept clean more times than not.
Las Vegas Raiders took care of Derek Carr this offseason
Loyalty and Continuity
Through his first four seasons at the NFL level, Carr saw a bunch of changes in terms of his head coach, his offensive coordinators, and his weapons. Dennis Allen and Jack Del Rio were his head coaches, Greg Olson, Todd Downing, and Bill Musgrave were his OCs, and he played with tons of different wideouts, tight ends, and backs.
Since Jon Gruden has come back to be the head coach, Carr has been in the same system with the same OC going on three seasons, which is one of the more important advantages he has entering 2020. Under Gruden, Carr has posted back-to-back 4,000 yard seasons, has completed 69.6 percent of his passes, and tossed 40 touchdowns against 18 interceptions.
Unfortunately, despite the solid stats, the Raiders are 11-21 in those 32 games, which is the reason he was booed out of the Coliseum late last season. If he wants to win back the fan base, another .500 season cannot be in the cards in 2020.
So the stage is set for Carr to either have a breakout season, similar to his 2016 campaign, or the Raiders to turn the page next offseason. The hope is, Carr can find the magic that made him one of the better late-game quarterbacks during that playoff season, and after investing him not only him, but the guys around him, the time is now to get this team back to the postseason.