Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden’s job is being made easier by having a cerebral player under his wing in Derek Carr, as evidenced by the high praises the team’s returning mentor has heaped on the quarterback. So impressed is Gruden of Carr that he said the signal-caller knows the intricacies of the team’s offense better than he does, per Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area.
“I think he’s one of the best, in terms of processing information,” Gruden said. “I think he craves new things. He wants more… ‘What do we have today? What are we doing today? What’s new? What do we got?’ He has a photographic memory. It comes so easy to him. He’s got the offense mastered more than I do.”
Of course, Gruden may be overpraising Carr a little bit by uttering that last part, but it also shows just how confident he has grown in the ability and the preparedness of the former Fresno State gunslinger to run Oakland’s offense this season.
Carr was named to the Pro Bowl for the third year in a row in 2017, but his production dropped a bit in Jack Del Rio’s last season in Oakland. After posting 3,937 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, and only six interceptions in 2016, Carr saw his numbers dip to 3,496 passing yards and 22 touchdowns to go with 13 picks thrown.
The Raiders are hoping that with Gruden replacing Del Rio, Carr will reach heights he has never been before in his still young NFL career.
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