A big topic of conversation for the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason was the quarterback position as the team flirted with the idea of signing someone like Tom Brady as a replacement for Derek Carr.
Ultimately, Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Raiders stuck with Carr as their starter, bringing in Marcus Mariota to be his backup for the next two seasons.
Carr’s career with the Raiders has been polarizing as he has been an MVP candidate at times, and also struggled at other times. The 2019 season was statistically the best of his career, posting career-highs in completion percentage (70.4), passing yards (4.054) and quarterback rating (100.8). The Raiders finished 7-9 and missed the postseason though, which led to some criticism.
Carr has been as motivated as ever this offseason to get the Raiders back to glory, hosting a number of team workouts in Las Vegas since the organization did not have the luxury of minicamps or any in-person workouts.
With so much uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Raiders owner Mark Davis admitted that keeping Carr as their quarterback in 2020 was the right decision, via Vic Tafur of The Athletic:
“There was so much talk this offseason about other quarterbacks and things of that nature, and having Derek (Carr) come back and the continuity he brings with how little time that players have to work together is probably a positive thing,” Davis said.
Davis was the first one to spark the Brady rumors after he was seen talking to him at a UFC event in Las Vegas in January, so for him to put his faith in Carr says a lot.
The Raiders did a lot to give Carr more weapons to work with this offseason, so all of the pressure will now be on him to produce and get the organization back to the postseason for the first time since 2016.
