Let’s look at the elephant in the room: The position dividing Raider Nation in half which is quarterback, so what should the Las Vegas Raiders do? Move up in the draft or move on from the player?
Moving Up or Moving On? Vol. 1: Raiders Quarterbacks
The Derek Carr Debate
Moving up, Carr should be in Vegas barring some crazy circumstances like his retirement or head coach Jon Gruden falling in love with a free agent, or general manager Mike Mayock having a soft spot for a prospect. The current Raiders signal-caller started all 16 games and completed 361 of the 513 passes thrown. Those completions got him over 4,000 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions with 100.8 QB rating. That’s pretty good and makes you wonder why half of Raider Nation is calling for his head.
Then you watch him play and make decisions like getting rid of the ball on fourth down, running from linemen trying to crush him and throwing away on third down instead of running for progress. Finally, trying to extend for the pylon into the redzone only to fumble the ball away is beyond head scratching. On top of that, his record against division rivals leave a lot to be desired:
Broncos: 5-6, 1-4 in Denver (Carr got hurt before the final game in Denver of 2016 so i left it out)
Chiefs: 2-10 under Carr at center, 0-6 in Arrowhead
Chargers: 6-6, thanks to the sweep this season, Raiders squared it up.
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On paper, Carr is a great quarterback when it comes to stats and game management. On the other hand, he’s mediocre at putting the team on his back and having a sense of urgency at critical times. I am curious to see if Jon Gruden brings in his brother Jay, who could push the signal-caller over the hump. The Gruden brothers need a “good cop/bad cop relationship with Carr, and I can see that working out well.
Mike Glennon
Moving on, I just don’t see why they would resign him or his neck.
DeShone Kizer
Moving up, general manager Mike Mayock has Kizer where he wanted him all along, on the sideline with a clipboard. He valued him as having the higher ceiling than guys like Patrick Mahomes and DeShaun Watson. He’s got one year left on his rookie contract and I expect him to develop into a camp/preseason arm to push Carr… or do just enough for trade bait. I am curious to see how a year behind Aaron Rodgers and a year behind Derek Carr has helped him.
Nathan Peterman
Moving up, Gruden loves him and he didn’t do too bad last preseason. I’d like to see him and Kizer battle out the backup role and help put heat on Carr along with whoever else they bring in. He is a free agent though, so we shall see.
Whoever Else?
Moving up, I just can’t see Gruden going into next season with only three quarterbacks; Carr, Kizer, and Peterman, if he’s resigned as I believe he will be. I expect him and Mayock to bring in either a free agent to really push Carr, or draft someone they want and develop him. The latter part should concern Carr, Kizer, and Peterman depending on where this prospect is selected as that would be a true investment and could tell us if they don’t see any of their three as the long-term answer.
Final Words
I expect the Raiders to open up Allegiant stadium in Las Vegas with Carr, Kizer, and Peterman. I would not be completely shocking to see Gruden bring in a free agent to rattle Carr though, I would be shocked if they drafted one high though.
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I would not be surprised if our starting quarterback 3 years from now is on the roster right now. Either Carr is still playing, or Gruden built up the Peterman project, or these years behind Rodgers and Carr did Kizer well. The Raiders quarterbacks are young and Gruden should take the gloves off and let them battle in camp. The team is Carr’s to win again, or lose.
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