Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden has plenty of confidence in Derek Carr. Gruden's first season back on the sidelines didn't go as planned, and the Raiders finished 4-12. They came in last place in the AFC West in an extremely disappointing campaign.
This is the team's last season in Oakland before they move to Las Vegas, and there's a lot of pressure to win now. All offseason, there was speculation that the team wasn't sold on Carr's abilities. There were persistent rumors that the team didn't view him as their longterm franchise quarterback, and would look to replace him.
But the draft came and went, and the Raiders didn't take a quarterback. Carr will be the unquestioned starter for at least one more year, and Gruden is backing him hard.
“I think he's pretty well respected as one of the best arm talents in football,” Gruden said, per Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com. “I think he's a lot more athletic than people think. I think if we can [maintain] continuity in this building with the system and with the supporting cast, improve the defense, I think he can be one of the best in football.”
It's nice to hear the coach back his quarterback up like that, although it's hard to tell how much of it he means. If Carr were to struggle in 2019, Gruden likely wouldn't have any qualms about searching for a replacement before the move.
The relationship between the two has always been hard to read, and there were rumors of strife last season. Fortunately due to their upcoming appearance on HBO's hit series ‘Hard Knocks' we should get a lot more clarity on that this summer.
Follow Us
Subscribe