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Relax, Las Vegas Raiders QB Derek Carr isn’t going anywhere

By Mario O. Tovar

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - SEPTEMBER 21: Quarterback Derek Carr (L) #4 and wide receiver Hunter Renfrow #13 of the Las Vegas Raiders warm up before an NFL game against the New Orleans Saints at Allegiant Stadium on September 21, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Raiders defeated the Saints 34-24. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - SEPTEMBER 21: Quarterback Derek Carr (L) #4 and wide receiver Hunter Renfrow #13 of the Las Vegas Raiders warm up before an NFL game against the New Orleans Saints at Allegiant Stadium on September 21, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Raiders defeated the Saints 34-24. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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Derek Carr and Jon Gruden. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Derek Carr and Jon Gruden. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

The Raiders love their draft capital

More so than Derek Carr himself, this team values its draft picks more than anything else. This is the same organization that traded away two top-tier talents in Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper for draft capital.

Essentially, they traded an all-world defensive stud and a Pro Bowl wide receiver for picks, unproven talent if you will.

Other than Josh Jacobs, no players drafted with those acquired selections can even deemed as having been ‘worth it.’ The team’s coaching has so far proven it can’t develop players and this falls on Gruden, not Carr. All these years later, and no one has come remotely close to filling Mack and Cooper’s shoes.

https://twitter.com/PFF/status/1356769816997224450

Another reason why the Raiders will not part ways with this level of draft capital is that by doing so, they’d be admitting this whole operation has been a failure so far. Trading for Watson would be a Hail Mary, swinging for the fences, etc. It would prove that the team’s strategy in acquiring picks while giving up proven talent that didn’t fit the ‘mold’ was a colossal failure.

As much as many want to blame Derek Carr, he’s not for responsible for the organization blowing up a team that had just been to the playoffs the year prior to Gruden’s return.

Also, in a trade scenario such as the one that Pro Football Focus proposed, the team would be gutting its offense. Darren Waller was the offensive MVP of the Raiders last year, why would you give up your best weapon in any deal?

Not to mention there’s no realistic scenario where Gruden and Mike Mayock give up any first-round picks for any player.

So far in their time together, Gruden and Mayock have shown they value their picks, especially first rounders, more than anything. It goes hand in hand with their vision and philosophy, it would be a gigantic surprise if they abandoned their plan.

Nevertheless, Watson’s available by all accounts, he wants out of Houston as soon as possible and who can blame him. What could he bring to the table if a trade were to possibly materialize?

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