There’s been plenty of speculation this season that Raiders head coach Jon Gruden may try to find a new quarterback after this year, that Derek Carr isn’t quite what he has in mind to lead this offense.
Yet Gruden, in the midst of a 2-9 season, says Carr is a fine quarterback and he believes he will continue to grow.
“I think he’s a heck of a quarterback, honestly,” Gruden said Monday, a day after Oakland lost to the Ravens in Baltimore. “I’ll just leave it at that. I look forward to some day, when we have a lot of pieces in place, and we have some continuity (and) everybody is used to playing with one another. …
“I think this guy has a real high celing. He has a lot of pride in his performance. Taking care of the football and being available every day on the practice field and on game day is a priority.”
Against the Ravens, Carr was 16-of-34 passing for 194 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. For the season, he’s completing a career-high 68.3 percent of his throws for 2,827 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions. His quarterback rating of 92.2 is second only to his career best of 96.7 in 2016. He’s been under constant pressure, having been sacked 35 times, just one less than his combined totals of 2016 and 2017.
Gruden says Carr’s growth can be seen in his interception number this season. He was picked off eight times over his first five games, but has no interceptions over six straight games.
“He’s taking care of the football,” said Gruden. “I don’t know when the last interception is that he’s thrown.”
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The six-game stretch is the longest for Carr in his career without throwing an interception. If Carr goes without a pick this Sunday against the Chiefs, it will tie the franchise record of seven games without one set in 2001 when Rich Gannon was at QB for Gruden in his first stint as head coach in Oakland, noted Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Carr injured his ankle in the game against Baltimore when he was sacked in the fourth quarter, but returned on the next series.
Raiders tight end Jared Cook says that’s one reason Carr has support on the team. Players have seen him sacked and hit all game long, yet he comes back for more.
“He’s got heart,” said Cook. “How many people would want to be back there with 350-pound dudes coming down at them, or tyring to bend them and tear their leg off? And, you’ve got to deal with that all game. For him to be standing back there and delivering the pass that he does and still be successful, like, you’re taking a ‘W’ to me. You’re the man to me.”
The Raiders will play host to the 9-2 Chiefs Sunday. Kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m.
