Las Vegas Raiders: Could Derek Carr play out Jon Gruden’s entire contract?

The Las Vegas Raiders seem to be sticking with quarterback Derek Carr for the long haul, but could that mean Jon Gruden’s entire contract?

Before the 2018 NFL season, the then-Oakland Raiders were able to pull off something that the fan base had been clamoring for. Jon Gruden, the last head coach to make the franchise an NFL power, was brought out of retirement by team owner Mark Davis, as the Silver and Black signed him to a 10-year/$100 million contract to get the team pointed in the right direction.

Since Gruden has returned to the sidelines, the Raiders have gotten better, improving in the win column from four in 2018, seven in 2019, and then an 8-8 season in 2020. However, in both 2019 and 2020, the team looked like playoff contenders early on, only to falter down the stretch in each season.

As he enters Year 4, there is a lot of pressure on him to finally get his team back to the playoffs, a place they have only been once since the 2002 NFL season. In his first stint with the team, Gruden relied on the play of Rich Gannon, whom he turned into an NFL Most Valuable Player after being a journeyman for his entire career.

This time, he has Derek Carr, who is younger than Gannon was, but is a player who is consistently surrounded by rumors of him being shipped somewhere else.