When Jon Gruden returned to coach the Raiders in 2018, there were some questions about how Derek Carr would fit in his offense. In that first season, the results were mixed as Carr threw 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on one of the league’s worst offenses.
But over the last two years, Carr has been a totally different quarterback. He had the best season of his career in 2020, as he had a passer rating of 101.4 and averaged 8.2 adjusted net yards per attempt. Carr accomplished both of these feats despite an oft-injured offensive line and a young wide receiver corps.
Carr has received a ton of praise for his 2020 season and the latest comes from Pro Football Focus. The site recently ranked their top-101 players of the 2020 season and Carr showed up at No. 57. Only eight other quarterbacks ranked ahead of Carr and you can make a strong case there should be even less. Here is what the site had to say about Carr and his 2020 season:
“The Raiders’ offense was vastly improved in 2020, and Derek Carr played better than he has since the 2016 season when it looked like he was poised to become one of the game’s next great young quarterbacks. Carr found his deep pass this season, posting a 53.3% adjusted completion rate on passes traveling at least 20 yards past the line of scrimmage and scoring 10 touchdowns on those plays. He showed he still has that level of play in him after going off the boil for a few seasons in between.”
While Carr remains a subject of trade rumors daily, it seems highly unlikely the Raiders would move on from an elite (or near-elite) quarterback on a very team-friendly deal. And when you consider that he’s an excellent fit in Gruden’s offense, it doesn’t make sense for the Raiders to go away from Carr.
If the Raiders can rebuild their offensive line and re-sign Nelson Agholor, there is no reason why Carr shouldn’t even be better in 2021. He’s playing the best football of his career and appears ready to help the Raiders take the next step as a team.
