The NFL Combine is now underway at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and the Las Vegas Raiders will have their share of the spotlight.
Vic Tafur of the Athletic recently talked about what the Raiders ought to be doing in the coming days. One of the things he noted is what Las Vegas should do in regards to the Derek Carr questions.
“…Jon Gruden won’t be taking the podium this year, and Mayock will surely be asked about Carr’s future. I can’t imagine he doesn’t again step to the side and wave his binder at the questions like a bullfighter. Speaking of which, there is a lot of BS this time of year, and the Raiders are not going to address any of it. There was report last week that they have already offered Tom Brady $60 million for two years to replace Carr. Sounds like someone throwing out the parameters for what a deal would look like — anywhere Brady signs. The Raiders aren’t going to commit themselves to Carr — other than recently paying him a scheduled $2.9 million of his $18.9 million salary — until the other dominoes have fallen…”
The Carr Riddle
The Raiders are going to be asked about Carr a lot these next few days and side stepping the questions simply won’t do. Tafur made a very intriguing note in the above tidbit; which is that the organization isn’t committing to Carr long term, other than the money they rightfully owed him.
Related: Carr Discussion Reaching New Lows
Even Carr’s biggest detractors cannot take away the fact that he finished fourth in the MVP ballot voting back in 2016. How much is the quarterback’s worth to teams who don’t have any talent at quarterback. No one but Raiders brass knows the plan (well we can only assume they do), but the whole Tom Brady affair comes into question.
“… I don’t know if signing a 43-year-old quarterback who would require an overhaul of the offense makes sense, but as someone with the Raiders said, “Brady is the GOAT.” So you have to consider it….” – Tafur on Raiders and Brady possibility
Henry Ruggs III
Tafur also brought up the fact the Raiders need help at wide receiver and that won’t change no matter who the quarterback is. The Antonio Brown experiment was a complete failure and the corps badly needs reinforcements. The author highlighted Henry Ruggs III of Alabama, citing NFL Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, with the following comparison:
“He’s the closest thing to Tyreek Hill that I’ve seen since Tyreek Hill entered the league,” Jeremiah said. “And he just looked like he’s been on a different speed than everybody else. This kid does the same thing. He’s so sudden off the line of scrimmage. It’s instant death for corners.”
Ruggs would undoubtedly be an instant jump start for the Raiders and who wouldn’t want someone on Hill’s level minus the off field problems. With prime draft picks and plenty of time to analyze and nitpick Ruggs these coming days, it’ll be interesting to see what happens if the Crimson Tide receiver is there when the NFL commissioner calls on the Raiders to make their pick in April’s draft.
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