By: Reese Nasser

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has had a long, yet relatively uneventful career up to this point. There have been moments where he has appeared to become a top-tier quarterback, but it has never lasted. 

In his seven seasons of being the QB1 for the Raiders, they have all ended the same. He has yet to play in a playoff game and has only had a double-digit win season once. 

The lone double-digit win season for Carr came in 2016. He played arguably the best football of his career, throwing 28 touchdowns and nearly 4000 yards. He also held onto the ball in a way that he has never been able to, throwing just six interceptions. 

Carr was also the very definition of clutch in 2016. He led the Raiders one seven game winning drives and was the reason that they were in a position to make a playoff run. After leading the then Oakland Raiders to a 12-3 record, tragedy struck. Carr broke his fibula in the fourth quarter of a week 15 game against the Indianapolis Colts. This injury ended Carr’s season and any chance that the Raiders had of a postseason run. 

Since that 2016 season, the Raiders have been arguably the most average team in the NFL. They have remained largely in the middle of the pack in regards to the rest of the league. Carr’s career record of 47-63 is very fitting for the organization as a whole. 

Carr’s 2020 season saw him turn in yet another performance that caused people to question whether he crossed into elite territory. The Raiders finished with an 8-8 record, but Carr was one of the top passers in the NFL. He threw 27 touchdowns to just nine interceptions and surpassed 4000 passing yards for just the third time of his career. 

But even with his performance, the Raiders still managed to be just mediocre. Carr has had seven seasons to bring the Raiders over the hump, and he has still not done it. With just two years remaining on his contract, Las Vegas has to decide if Carr is who they wish to continue to build around. 

The quarterback is just 30 years old and a team looking to find a new franchise QB could look to Carr to be that guy. The Raiders could look to trade Carr and get a hefty return through either draft picks and/or promising young players. He also has one of the top arms in the NFL and has shown that he is not afraid to sling the ball. 

So does that technically make this a make or break season for Carr? In a way, yes. But that doesn’t fully explain just how important this season could be for the franchise as a whole, even outside of Derek Carr. So let’s take a look at why exactly this is a make or break season for Carr. 

The State of the Franchise 

While this will be the Raiders second season in Las Vegas, it will be the first for the fans. The expectations for this team will be unreal. They have a new stadium and a whole new city to impress. 

They also don’t necessarily have a roster that is built to win a lot of games in 2021. They are fairly young at many important positions. The receiving group isn’t great, with second-year receiver Henry Ruggs being the WR1 on this roster. A duo of Ruggs and breakout tight end Darren Waller may not be enough to get this team into the playoffs, especially when looking at how good the AFC is. 

The defensive side of the ball is also young, especially the secondary. If the defense struggles, the Raiders may find themselves in a position where they are forced to fight their way back into games. 

When looking at the success of other teams in recent years that have moved cities, near instant success will be what the fans want. Look at the success of both of the Los Angeles teams. The Rams and Chargers both moved cities and have both found success in Los Angeles. 

Both Los Angeles teams, even though the rosters are drastically different, are both in very good positions. Las Vegas could look at both teams as a template to build. 

The Chargers are one of the most exciting teams in the NFL, and are being led by second-year quarterback Justin Herbert. 

The Raiders could look to assemble a roster somewhat resembling that of the Chargers. They could start this process by moving on from Carr and finding a young quarterback. 

Or they could build like the Rams, who have a veteran quarterback in Matt Stafford. Their depth chart is full of veteran players on both sides of the ball.

Why the Raiders Could Move On

With all of these variables, it wouldn’t come as a shock if the Raiders chose to move on from Carr. With being in a new city, finding a new face of the franchise could make sense, especially with looking at the quarterbacks that will be available in this year’s draft. 

From Spencer Rattler, and Sam Howell, to Malik Willis, and Kedon Slovis, this upcoming draft eligible quarterbacks could be intriguing. They are all good at different things and each one could fit in with the Raiders.

It could arguably come down to how well the Raiders perform this season. After an 8-8 record last season, the Raiders draft pick ended up being right near the middle of the pack. They ended up having the 17th selection. 

If Carr leads them to another record around 9-8 or 10-7, they could still find themselves picking right near the middle yet again. This could remove them from contention of selecting a top quarterback, putting them in sort of a no man’s land where they would have no choice but to stick with Carr. 

This could lead to a potential mid-season trade, something that rarely happens with big name players in the NFL. This wouldn’t be the first time that the Raiders have done something like this. They traded for Cincinnati Bengals quarterback right before the trade deadline in 2011. The roles could be reversed with this go-around. With either injuries or a team that feels like they are a “quarterback away” from a real playoff-run, Carr could be that guy.

A team would have to give up a good amount for Carr, especially when considering that they would have him under contract for all of the 2022 season as well. 

When looking at recent trades for a QB1, there is always substantial capital involved. The Rams sent the Lions two first-round picks, a third-rounder and Jared Goff. The Colts sent a conditional second-rounder and a third-rounder for Carson Wentz. 

The Raiders could find themselves receiving something in-between these two trades for Carr. At least one first round pick would be needed to get a trade started. 

If the Raiders find themselves struggling near the trade deadline, a mid-season trade could be what they choose to do. Trading Carr could change the future of the franchise. 

So yes, this is a make or break season for Derek Carr. He is coming off of a career year and is still a very talented player. 

The entire future of the Las Vegas Raiders franchise could be determined by how well Carr and this team as a whole perform in 2021. If he gives them a reason to keep him around, they could lock into him for the remainder of his career. Or, they could move on and restart with a new QB1. 

The post Is 2021 a make or break season for Derek Carr in Las Vegas? appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Josh Shippen

The Packers are going through a very tenuous situation with Aaron Rodgers at the moment. Rodgers has threatened to go so far as to retire if he is forced to play for Green Bay in the 2021 season. With this in mind, the downgrade from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love will be extremely severe, and possibly deadly for the Packers 2021 season. Jordan Love will definitely need an experienced veteran next to him, and the number 1 and 2 overall pick from 2015 are 2 very viable options. So without further ado, let’s go over each.

Marcus Mariota was the 2nd overall pick of 2015 and was selected by the Tennessee Titans. Mariota was the starter from 2015 to 2019 and posted some very promising 9-7 seasons, some of which resulted in semi-convincing playoff berths. Overall he is an effective quarterback, but in 2019 Ryan Tannehill took over for an ineffective Mariota and immediately started to set the world on fire with his amazing play. After this Mariota got seemingly downgraded to eternal backup, his first stop being behind Derek Carr in Las Vegas.

Mariota’s short career has, as aforementioned, been promising. Mariota has posted a 3,000-yard season with a 26-9 TD-INT ratio. While this is by no means anything that makes fans’ eyes pop out of their sockets, it’s a perfectly respectable stat line for a player who has been quarterbacking a mostly boring team for 4 seasons. Mariota also has talent with his legs; he is by no means a Lamar Jackson or a Deshaun Watson, but again his rough average of about 300 rushing yards per season and 2 touchdowns is perfectly respectable. Nothing about this necessitation of Mariota’s career highlights makes me particularly excited to see him in a Green Bay uniform, but he could be a perfectly effective staple until the Packers develop Jordan Love or get a new quarterback via the draft, a trade, or free agency.

The first overall pick is much more of an interesting story, Winston has been compared to Big Ben in some respects and seeing that he has a 5,000 yard passing season under his belt I think the comparison can be considered as somewhat valid. However Winston has definite flaws, his 5,000 yard campaign made him the first member of the 30’s club, that is to say Winston passed for 33 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. The touchdowns are perfectly fine but the interception issues are completely inexcusable. The question at hand is whether Winston can be improved over time. I believe of course that anything is possible, after all the NFL is extremely unpredictable, but if Bruce Arians can’t find a way to fix him I’m not sold that Matt LaFluer can.

Winston has spent his past six seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he was drafted first overall, and the New Orleans Saints serving as a backup to Drew Brees, and now Taysom Hill. The fact that Winston cannot be named as the definitive starter over an undrafted, unproven quarterback is definitely a red flag for me, but I believe that Winston’s upside far eclipses Mariota’s upside. The stock would be low if this move were made, but I believe that this trade could theoretically happen if everything fell wrong with Rodgers.

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By Rod Villagomez

Once upon a time, Marcus Mariota was drafted by the Tennessee Titans with the second pick in the 2015 draft. He joined an organization several years removed from their glory days and searching for a new identity. He went on to lead his team to a playoff appearance in his third season with Tennessee. Along the way, he took the team from a 3-13 record in his first year, to three straight seasons over the .500 mark. He showed his mobility and playmaking ability on the field and helped put the Titans back in the conversation of one of the better teams in the league.

It all came to an end unceremoniously in the 2019 season when Ryan Tannehill replaced the injured Mariota and held on to the job for the rest of the year. That offseason, the Titans offered Tannehill the invitation to stay sending Mariota to find his own way. He did that by signing with the Las Vegas Raiders to back up Derek Carr. He only appeared in a single game in his first year of the two year contract he signed with the Raiders.

There are plenty of teams that are in need of a starting quarterback heading into the 2021 season. It’s arguable that Mariota’s best days are actually not behind him and that bad luck has him playing back up to an ironman. If this is true, there should be several phone calls being made to secure his services. Here are four possible trading partners that would benefit from the former Oregon standout.  

New England Patriots – Current Quarterbacks: Cam Newton (FA), Jarrett Stidham

The 2021 season in New England will not begin with Cam Newton under center. That being the case, the need for his replacement should be a priority for the Patriots. Mariota’s has a valid case to be that guy. Big named potentials have been taken off the board in past weeks. Names like Carson Wentz who is now an Indianapolis Colt. Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford pulled the old switcheroo and will permanently swap jerseys next season. There do remain though some big fish to try and land like Deshaun Watson. In all reality, the Pats don’t have enough to offer Houston for that to happen.

So what that leaves is a collection of names a la Dak Prescott, Mitchell Trubisky, and Ryan Fitzpatrick among others. Of these, none seem likely to raise the antenna much as a potential leader in New England. This means if Bill Belichick wants a new face under center next year, his best bet is to make a deal. Several people seem to think that bringing back Jimmy Garoppolo makes sense. As touching as it would be to bring the former Tom Brady backup home, he carries with him a hefty price tag. The Patriots would need to take on his $24 million contract to suit him up in their colors next season. Mariota on the other hand, would only require a little over $10 million to put on the red, white, and blue.

In the short term memory syndrome that has befallen the NFL, some might have forgotten that all was not that bad in Tennessee in the Mariota era. He logged two seasons with more than 3,000 passing yards and made a deep playoff run in the 2017 season. More importantly, he helped turn around an otherwise slumping franchise. Up to his arrival, the Titans finished under .500 in four of the last five seasons. He’s still only 28 and given the chance could offer the Patriots a solid foundation from which to begin their rebuild.

The question becomes what do the Raiders get for Mariota? In this instance, New England is without a third-round pick which seems to be the agreement on market price. That may change though as the Patriots are in line for a compensatory pick for Tom Brady which could come in the third round. It could be that the Pats part ways with their fourth-round pick and a defensive player of their choice. The Raiders struggled in many aspects defensively last season, especially on the defensive line. Whatever the cost, if Belichick wants Mariota bad enough, he’s sure to make it happen. 

Denver Broncos – Current Quarterbacks: Drew Lock, Brett Rypien, Jeff Driskel

It does not appear as if Drew Lock is the future in Colorado. The Broncos second-round pick of the 2019 draft hasn’t been all John Elway had hoped he’d be. It probably wasn’t realistic to expect a rookie to have an immediate impact on a franchise coming off of back-to-back sub .500 seasons. That said, Lock had difficulty hitting a stride in the season and a half he held the reigns. This ineffectiveness could open the door for the arrival of Mariota. He certainly provides the level of veteran leadership to the Mile High City it’s been lacking since the departure of Peyton Manning. 

No matter which quarterback is taking snaps for the Broncos next season, work will need to be done around him for him to succeed. If it does turn out to be Mariota, he’ll be throwing behind the 8th worst offensive line in the league. He will have some stability though in the running game with Melvin Gordon as the anchor. Gordon finished only 14 yards shy of 1,000 rushing yards last season. They will have to find at least one more explosive receiver. If they can support him Mariota could be the solution to Denver’s quarterback problem. 

Jacksonville Jaguars – Current Quarterback: Gardner Minshew, Mike Glennon

This is no knock on Minshew Mania. Gardner Minshew has stolen many hearts in Jacksonville. It also blinded a lot of eyes as a result. His epic beard hides his overall ineffectiveness over the last two seasons. Maybe more of it has to do with his situation than talent, but the fact remains that it is not working out for either party anymore. So much so in fact, that with the first pick in the draft, they will look to crown their next gunslinger by presumably taking Trevor Lawrence off the board. 

But here is a logic train that is lost in today’s impatient, “win now” league: talent development. You can argue that only game action seasons these rookies and that sitting does nothing good for them. While there are exceptions, what we see more than often is these young, otherwise talented quarterbacks, flame out fast. Too much pressure is put on them to save floundering teams with the skeleton of the poorly performing team surrounding them. In the end, it’s not fair to the players, the management, or the fans. 

To that point, renting Marcus Mariota for a season via trade will give Lawrence a decent mentor who has experience turning a sub .500 team into playoff contenders. It will also give Jacksonville a decent chance to “win now.” There’s plenty of young talented Jaguars to help him along the way. Breakout rookie James Robinson will be behind him in the backfield. He’ll also benefit from three speedy young wideouts in D.J. Chark, Keelan Cole, and Laviska Shenault Jr. This will be the most controversial of landing spots, but one that makes sense.

Chicago Bears – Current Quarterbacks: Mitch Trubisky (FA), Nick Foles

Whatever the question was in Chicago last season. Nick Foles was not the answer. He struggled for the better part of his nine starts with the Bears. Eventually, he lost his spot to the incumbent Chicago quarterback Mitch Trubisky. While the team managed to stumble it’s way into a second place finish in the NFC North and a playoff spot, it wasn’t pretty. They seem to be a quarterback away from being able to make a deeper run at the title.

Bringing Mariota into the fold would link him to Allen Robinson and David Montgomery. Both would up his stock. Montgomery would be a nice buffer for his new quarterback as Mariota is used to having a 1,000-yard caliber running back behind him. Chicago has a 20th pick in the third round to offer up as collateral. This would be ideal supposing they allow Trubisky to hit the free agent market. Foles will either be relegated to back up status as a result, or Chicago will try to shop him around. Either way, Chicago should look into upgrading their quarterback situation.  

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By: Caleb Holfoth

The quarterback carousel this offseason is already off to an exciting start with Matthew Stafford being traded to the Los Angeles Rams. James Palmer of NFL Network reported that several teams have called the Raiders and have made offers for starting QB Derek Carr.

The Raiders have yet to seriously consider offers. Considering that the Raiders have not made much progress with Derek Carr during Jon Gruden’s coaching tenure does make this trade very possible in the future.

The Raiders currently hold the 17th pick in the first round of the NFL draft. They could gather more picks and move up by trading Carr, but it is unlikely that any of the top five quarterbacks in the draft fall that far. The Raiders could pick a quarterback late in the draft but the player will likely not be NFL ready. Here are three players who could replace Derek Carr if he is traded in a deal that does not return a quarterback.

1. Jameis Winston

Another option for Gruden and Las Vegas is the guy who was picked ahead of Mariota in 2015. Jameis Winston sat behind Drew Brees and Taysom Hill this season for the Saints took this season to learn behind one of the greatest. Winston is most remembered for throwing 30 Interceptions in the 2019 season. However, what people forget is that Winston led the league in passing with 5,109 yards and 30 passing touchdowns.

Winston could be the perfect bridge QB for a competitive roster featuring a pedestrian defense. The Raiders aren’t in a great position to draft Gruden’s favorite QB prospect, so it would be more than ideal for LV to take a value pick in the free agency pool.

Winston clearly has the talent to start in the NFL. Where Winston needs to improve is with turnovers and pocket presence. Winston would automatically make the Raiders offense more explosive. However, the cost that could come at with Winston’s high turnover rate is something that makes all NFL franchises balk at Winston. Gruden would be taking a risk by going with Winston. The reward could be gigantic, or it could put Gruden’s job on the line. 

2. Marcus Mariota

This option makes sense for Las Vegas because they keep the job in-house. Marcus Mariota former second Overall pick played well in relief for Derek Carr when Carr went down this year in week 15. Mariota threw for 226 yards and ran for 88 yards with 2 total touchdowns to finish the game in relief. Although Mariota could have some sort of career resurgence with the Raider, he is more of a bridge option for the Raiders. 

Mariota is a talented QB that is familar with the scheme and could compete with modest weapons around him. Gruden may have trouble luring a FA QB if Carr does leave the building, so it would make sense to keep the Oregon legend intact if he they trade the QB1.

Mariota can be an average NFL quarterback who has the occasional outlier game where he plays like a top 15 quarterback. Mariota is a dual-threat player which gives the Raiders an advantage over Carr’s pocket passer style. However, without an elite offense surrounding him, Mariota is the least feasible option on the list if the Raiders expect to make the playoffs next season.  

3. Dak Prescott

Probably the most unrealistic option is also the most intriguing. It is not a secret that Dak Prescott and the Cowboys are not exactly BFFs. Prescott wanted a long-term deal last season and the Dallas franchise tagged him. Nonetheless, this is Jon Gruden that we’re talking about — the same coach that had trades with Khalil Mack, Amari Cooper, and signed Antonio Brown.

Prescott got hurt early this year and the Cowboys were changing quarterbacks all season eventually leading to a third-place finish in the NFC East. Prescott is an unrestricted free agent and unless the Dallas Cowboys tag him, he will hit the open market. If Prescott does hit the market, there would be several teams knocking at the door for his services. 

Other NFL teams certainly have better selling points than the Las Vegas Raiders, but the Raiders should not be overlooked. The Raiders have the pieces (Henry Ruggs, Darren Waller, Nelson Agholor, Hunter Renfrow, Josh Jacobs). They also have something that not many franchises can offer. A brand-new stadium in a brand-new location with no face of the organization. Prescott could easily become the face of the Raiders; one of the NFL’s most storied and notable franchises.

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