The Las Vegas Raiders are going to go as far as Derek Carr can take them. However, if an injury were to befall No. 4, who would the responsibility fall to? Well, that’d be Jarrett Stidham, and according to Mike Tanier, the Silver and Black would be out of luck if that happened.
In the last couple of seasons, the Raiders had Marcus Mariota backing up Carr. In a few moments, flashes of unfulfilled potential, Mariota showed he could still lead a team, even if in spurts. It was enough for the Atlanta Falcons to hand him the starting job, even if it is a stop-gap solution this season. The Raiders were one of the few teams in the NFL that had two legitimate starters. To be clear, no one’s saying Mariota is on Carr’s level; rather, the team had a pair of QBs that could start on at least half of the league’s teams. It was an expensive luxury, one that the new regime had no interest in keeping.
Josh McDaniels brought in a familiar face to be the Raiders’ backup quarterback
With Josh McDaniels now in charge, the former New England Patriots offensive coordinator brought in a familiar face in Stidham. He was the Patriots’ backup signal-caller from 2019–2020. He wasn’t the flashiest or sexiest signing, but make no mistake, McDaniels feels Stidham has untapped potential, but he’s far from a finished product, much less one that should be relied upon. So, Football Outsiders recently put him as the NFL’s 32nd-best backup quarterback.
Unlike most of the quarterbacks in his rankings, Tanier kept it short and sweet with regard to Stidham.
32. Jarrett Stidham, Las Vegas Raiders
Josh McDaniels’ answer to Kyle Allen.
Sheesh, brutal. Kyle Allen? Allen has previously played for the Carolina Panthers and the Washington Commanders, most recently starting 12 games in 2019 and four in 2020. To be fair, calling Stidham McDaniels’ answer to Allen is comical when you consider Allen has won seven games as a starter. Meanwhile, Stidham has only appeared in eight NFL games. Regardless, the season is riding on Carr, and whether you like Stidham or not, he showed he can make things happen with his legs during the preseason. On top of that, he knows McDaniels’ system.
Make no mistake, though, if Stidham is playing at some point this season, it’s either because the Raiders are up 30 or things aren’t going well for a multitude of reasons such as an injury. Either way, Raiders fans are hoping it doesn’t come to that.
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*Top Photo: NBC Sports/Boston
