Is Derek Carr’s Future with Raiders Really in Jeopardy?
After a 10-7 record and a playoff berth in 2021, the Raiders had high expectations going into 2022. Those expectations have fallen well short, currently sitting 5-8 and ready to face the New England Patriots. These remaining four games may not seem like a big deal, but for quarterback Derek Carr, they may be the biggest games of his Raider career.
Many Raiders beat writers, including Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed, have recently questioned the nine-year veteran’s future with the team. With the offense set to be fully healthy, the new regime of Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler might want to see how Carr performs.
Wide receiver Hunter Renfrow and tight end Darren Waller will finally return to the field after months of being on the IR. Before the season, the Raiders’ offensive core was seen as a top-10 unit in the NFL. Now that the whole offense will be healthy, Tafur believes Carr will have to prove himself in order to be a Raider in 2023. He now has Renfrow, Waller and Davante Adams to throw to, something he hasn’t fully had since the beginning of the season.
It’s hard to determine if the blame falls more on Carr or McDaniels. However, owner Mark Davis has vouched for McDaniels, saying he’s doing a “fantastic job,” almost guaranteeing he’ll return next year. That shines the light on Carr who has been the glue of this broken franchise for the past nine years.
It’s been an up-and-down season for Carr so far. He’s 27th in completion percentage, 13th in passing yards per game and 18th in touchdown-to-interception ratio. Carr has 3,117 yards with 20 touchdowns so far, but his four interceptions away from 14, which is a career high. His 62% completion percentage is also the worst of his career since 2017, even with Adams at his disposal.
So, it is really time to move on? Unless the Raiders lose out, they won’t have a high enough pick to nab one of the top quarterback prospects. As of today, they hold the eighth pick, and guys like Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud are expected to go within the top five. There aren’t many free-agent quarterbacks either. Besides Tom Brady, who may retire this offseason, the options would be Jimmy Garoppolo, Daniel Jones, or Baker Mayfield, which isn’t exactly an upgrade.
What about Adams? He grew up in the area and was raised a Raider fan, so Carr wasn’t the main reason he came. It still played a huge factor since the duo played at Fresno State together and have been best friends ever since. Would Adams want to stay in the team that gives up on Carr? What about all the contracts they gave out last offseason? The Raiders locked up Adams, Renfrow, and Maxx Crosby, and signed Chandler Jones. These deals created a 3-to-4-year contention window and giving up on Carr means tearing that down and continuing a rebuild that is two decades old.
Carr hasn’t been pretty, but this season has been a bomb and it’s far from just his fault. Waller and Renfrow facing injuries ruined the offense, and McDaniels inconsistency with the play-calling has been dreadful. Not to mention the four games they’ve blown 17-plus-point leads in. The 2021 team was definitely lucky, but this team got better on paper and is somehow ending worse.
Just like the past 20 years, the Raiders’ defense has been awful. It’s easy to blame the quarterback, but this team won’t win anything with the defense they have. Crosby is carrying them heavily, and instead of drafting a new quarterback, the target should be defense. Look at the Cowboys and Niners, who have had similar offenses to the Raiders. The difference there are their defenses, many of which they acquired via the draft.
If Ziegler is smart, he’ll run it back in 2023 with Carr. He’ll make defensive help his main priority via the draft and free agency. He’ll clean house defensively minus a few cornerstones like Crosby and Nate Hobbs and give defensive coordinator Patrick Graham real talent to work with.
This offense is not a problem, and when healthy it truly is a top-10 offense. Carr may not be the problem or the answer, but QB is far from the main problem with the Raiders organization. This isn’t the Patriot way, it’s the Raiders way. Carr is a guy who could take this team to a Super Bowl.
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