Last time we saw Derek Carr, the Black Hole crowd rudely booed him off the field in Oakland in the final game. Then some reports broke of of a ‘disconnect’ between Carr and Raiders head coach Jon Gruden.
These reports came from NBC Sports Bay Area.
There reportedly is a "significant disconnect" between Derek Carr and Jon Gruden 😬https://t.co/jONmBwdHem pic.twitter.com/2oTtdGX4HX
— Raiders on NBCS (@NBCSRaiders) December 17, 2019
However, the Raiders beat the Chargers on the road 24-17 in week 16. Moreover, Carr went 26 of 30 for 291 yards and a passing touchdown along with no turnovers. It’s been the kind of performance he’s posted all year long.
Currently Carr has 20 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, a 71 percent completion percentage and 3,663 passing yards. All of this equates to a QB rating of 101 which is considered phenomenal.
Still, a new report from NBC Sports has the Raiders (Gruden) wanting to move on to a quarterback with more upside in 2020.
End of the road?
Jon Gruden and the Raiders reportedly will consider moving on from Derek Carr in 2020https://t.co/zkOxbQsOcJ pic.twitter.com/WnUNfUinD6
— Raiders on NBCS (@NBCSRaiders) December 22, 2019
And here’s what we have been waiting on to come out all season long. This part of the report stems from NFL insider Jason LaCanfora.
While Gruden and Carr have a solid relationship, per La Canfora, the Raiders coach reportedly has issues with the veteran’s inability to extend plays with his legs and has fallen in love with the athletic college quarterbacks who have taken the NFL by storm. Gruden is expected to go deep in his evaluation of the 2020 QB class and look to upgrade the position, several sources told La Canfora.
No surprise here – in that Gruden is just tired of his old told – and wants a new toy to play with. Such is the problem with the league and NFL coaches in general. There’s actually nothing wrong with Carr and the numbers support that. However, Gruden just didn’t draft the guy and wants his new guy.
Eventually this happens in every NFL city, it’s only a matter of time. We would be willing to bet that you can dig up this post in a decade, and whomever the Raiders go with after they move to Las Vegas; won’t post numbers like the ones Carr just put up in 2019.
Finally, the Raiders have a chance to make the playoffs if the dominos fall correctly in week 17. Check out what needed to happen, and what still needs to take place:
The Raiders need 10 things to happen to make the playoffs. The 5 things they needed today ALL happened:
✅ Steelers lose
✅ Colts win
✅ Browns lose 1 of last 2 games
✅ Titans lose
✅ Raiders win pic.twitter.com/FdSIq9DMcN— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) December 23, 2019
The Raiders' path to the playoffs isn't THAT crazy if they finish this out:
1. Raiders win at Broncos
2. Titans lose at Texans
3. Steelers lose at Ravens
4. Colts win at Jags— Gregg Rosenthal (@greggrosenthal) December 22, 2019
A Cinderella run could change things for Carr, but this is likely his last stretch as a Raiders player. All of this is a little bit sad in a way. The guy has been a class act and put up numbers, and that’s not good enough for the coach who has won too little and has been given too much power by the owner Mark Davis.
