With free agency under a month away, it’s time to check in on the Raiders’ quarterback position to give it a condition of either Strong, Stable, Unstable, Serious, or Critical.
Returning starter: Derek Carr
Backups: None
Free agent: Marcus Mariota
Derek Carr passed for a career-high 4804 yards last season. Though the four-game win-streak at the end of the season can mostly be attributed to the defense, Carr did enough to help get the Raiders into the postseason for the first time in six years, including leading them on six game-winning drives.
Unfortunately, Carr was also partly responsible for putting them in those holes with two unwanted career highs; throwing 14 interceptions and fumbling 13 times. And the persistent red-zone issues continued as well.
Mariota was the team’s primary backup and was used occasionally as a third-down short-yardage option quarterback.
Condition: Stable
One of the bigger decisions of the new coaching staff this offseason is what to do with Derek Carr. They have three options, basically. Either give him an extension, trade him, or ride out the last year on this contract. The third option is the least attractive because simply riding out his final year would mean they either let him walk for nothing, or pay him more on a new deal a year from now than they would on an extension now. But, they have options, which is a good position to be in.
Whether they can re-sign Martiota is also in question. While the Raiders use his legs as a change-up to move the chains, he can do much more than that, making him one of the league’s better backups and a viable option to start as well. Should they lose him, they would, of course, have to find a suitable replacement. And, no, I don’t mean Nate Peterman.
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