Derek Carr is still the Oakland Raiders' starting quarterback. Despite many urging coach Jon Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock to consider upgrading under center this offseason, the Raiders' interest in quarterbacks pretty much began and ended with rumors that the team was enamored with Kyler Murray during the pre-draft process, who was selected by the Arizona Cardinals with the first overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Despite that implicit vote of confidence, though, Carr's future with the Raiders may not be as stable as it seems. The five-year pro was recently listed as the 16th-most secure quarterback in the NFL by ESPN's Dan Graziano, who placed him in the tier of signal-callers for whom it's “prove-it time” during the 2019 season.

Carr's 2019 salary of $19.9 million became fully guaranteed in February, but there's nothing guaranteed beyond this season, and the dead-money hit if the Raiders cut or trade him next offseason is a manageable $5 million.

What this means is that this is the big season for Carr and his future with the soon-to-be Las Vegas Raiders. They didn't draft a quarterback last month, which basically ensures that Carr gets to be the starter in 2019. But if he struggles and Jon Gruden falls in love with a quarterback in the 2020 draft, it wouldn't be hard for the Raiders to make the switch.

Carr, 27, signed a record five-year, $125 million deal with the Raiders two years ago, in the aftermath of his career-best 2016 campaign. He's struggled in the interim, failing to lead Oakland to the playoffs in each of the last two seasons and throwing just 19 touchdowns in 2018, a career-low.