The battle to be Derek Carr’s backup keeps getting interesting by the week, literally.
It was no surprise that Oakland Raiders’ quarterback Derek Carr did not see action versus the Arizona Cardinals last week resulting in E.J. Manuel surprising many with the playing time he received.
PFF recently shared his overall performance, and while he trailed (though not by much) Kansas City Chiefs’ rookie Patrick Mahomes and Denver Broncos’ quarterback Trevor Siemian, who by the way many suppose will be the starting signal caller, Manuel held his own while playing with mostly backups and third stringers.
The best quarterback in the AFC West in the opening week of preseason will give Chiefs fans plenty of hope for the future pic.twitter.com/vnHRzllhEn
— PFF (@PFF) August 16, 2017
No one is saying that Derek Carr’s job is in trouble here, but the need for a legitimate backup quarterback is something that cannot be overlooked any longer, last year exposed that position as a weakness. It has only been one preseason game, but Raider Nation is wondering what might have been if Manuel had been under center the game versus the Houston Texans.
Don’t Forget About Connor…
As the preseason progresses, we will also continue to monitor Connor Cook’s improvement, last week he held his own though if we are honest didn’t exactly “shine” either. He ended the night in Arizona with a 47.6 completion percentage and had ten completions out of 21 attempts when it was all said and done. Before anyone rips apart Cook though, remind yourself as I play devil’s advocate that he played with many players who might not even make the roster and no need even to bring up the fact that the offensive line was in its depths.
That is neither here nor there as we move forward, currently, Manuel is doing a solid job, and if anything, Raider Nation should find solace in the fact that the Raiders’ backup quarterback might end up looking better than a potential starter for its bitter rival, the Broncos.