It had been a foregone conclusion that the Oakland Raiders would sit rookie quarterback Derek Carr in lieu of veteran Matt Schaub this season. The idea made a ton of sense. Give Carr a year to learn the nuances of the NFL and get his feet wet in mop-up duty, while attempting to get something of value from Schaub, who the Raiders acquired in a trade earlier this offseason.
It now seems that Carr is much closer to potentially starting Week 1 than we previously imagined. Albert Breer of NFL Network had this to say about Carr earlier on Saturday (h/t Pro Football Talk).
There is now an internal belief he’ll be pushed by rookie Derek Carr, who has displayed the talent and intelligence early on to shed his red shirt and play right away.
Raiders already have internal belief that Carr will push Schaub, per @AlbertBreer http://t.co/4l9dIQRNMq
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) June 6, 2014
That’s fine and dandy, but performing well in rookie minicamp and OTA’s is completely different than facing NFL level defenses in the regular season. It really doesn’t matter all too much how good Carr looks throwing against air. If he’s solid in preseason action, the Raiders may want to give him some first-team reps at some point. That would be a much better indicator of where he is at.
The idea of starting a rookie quarterback out of the gate is something that has plagued nearly every NFL team over the years. There are a group of people, myself included, who think nearly every rookie quarterback is better off sitting for a season. Others take a different approach, especially considering the success that the likes of Russell Wilson and Andrew Luck, among others, have had as rookies in recent years.
Photo: USA Today