When Jon Gruden returned to the then-Oakland Raiders back in 2019, there was a belief that he would be the guy to bring the best out of quarterback Derek Carr and lead the franchise back to glory. With Mike Mayock taking over as general manager, the Raiders felt they had the infrastructure in place to succeed.
Things didn’t work out, however, as Gruden was let go in the middle of the 2021 season due to leaked emails, and Mayock was let go at the end of the season. Carr would go on to lead the Raiders to the playoffs that season but has since been released and is now a member of the New Orleans Saints.
In the eyes of Mayock, things have gone downhill over the past couple of seasons for Carr and he attributes that to no longer having Gruden behind him. The former Raiders GM said as much on a recent podcast appearance via Ryan Gaydos of Fox Sports:
“I thought Jon did an unbelievable job with Derek Carr,” Mayock said on a recent episode of the “3 & Out” podcast. “Since Jon left, Derek has gone downhill.”
Mayock would continue on with his thoughts, feeling that Gruden had pushed Carr into the top half of starting quarterbacks in the NFL:
“The reality is that there’s always going to be X number of franchise quarterbacks,” Mayock added on the podcast. “One group below that is another five or six guys that I think you can win with.… I felt strongly that each year with Jon, Derek got better and by the end of the ’21 season, whether you were a Derek Carr guy or not, I think you’d have to say he was a top 12 or 13 quarterback.”
Carr did have his three highest passing yards seasons under Gruden as well as his best completion percentage, so there was undoubtedly some success. But Carr was solid with the Saints this past season throwing for nearly 3,900 yards with a 3-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio.
That being said, very few would consider Carr in the top half of starting quarterbacks today, but to link that strictly to Gruden is probably unfair.
Raiders to meet with Michael Penix Jr. before 2024 NFL Draft
The Las Vegas Raiders are currently trying to find their franchise quarterback of the future, and the 2024 NFL Draft offers a number of intriguing options. Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. is someone the Raiders will learn everything about.
The Raiders are one of the teams set to meet with Penix prior to the draft, and he certainly has the credentials. The Heisman Trophy runner-up and Maxwell Award winner threw for 4,903 yards and 36 touchdowns while leading the Huskies to the College Football National Championship Game.
