Derek Carr has received a vote of confidence from his new general manager.
The Raiders quarterback, entering his sixth season as the team’s starter, has received criticism from the media and fans the past two years for his inconsistent performance as the team experienced 6-9 and 4-12 seasons.
After a career-high quarterback rating of 96.7 in 2016, when he led Oakland to a 12-3 record and a trip to the playoffs, Carr has had ratings of 86.4 (in 2017) and 93.9. That slump has led some analysts to speculate that head coach Jon Gruden and new GM Mike Mayock might want to acquire a new quarterback through the draft or free agency.
But Mayock, at this week’s NFL combine in Indianapolis, told the media Wednesday morning that the Raiders are happy with both Carr and backup A.J. McCarron.
“We’ve got a young quarterback that we think is a franchise quarterback that’s going to be 28 in March, so we’re pretty happy with where we are,” Mayock said. “Especially with our backup, who we signed last year, McCarron. We feel like we’re pretty good at the quarterback position.”
Mayock, who will have three picks in the first round of this year’s draft, and 10 picks overall, says he has a responsibility to work to improve the roster at every position. But for now, quarterback is in good hands.
Said Mayock: “It’s really difficult to try to improve over a franchise quarterback like the one we have in our building right now.”
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Mayock, however, will have a busy week, scouting the nearly 400 players invited to the combine. The Raiders do have needs at almost every position but quarterback. Mayock on Wednesday morning said the Raiders have “more needs than I can even talk about right now.”
