Oakland Raiders: Making the case for one castoff backup QB over another

The Oakland Raiders have a desperate need for a competent backup quarterback and while one name has surprisingly garnered some support, another name might be a better fit.

The Oakland Raiders, like a lot of other teams out there, are one injury away from having their entire season unravel.

That idea is illustrated perfectly by the 2016 season, when quarterback Derek Carr broke a bone in his leg in a Christmas Eve game with Indianapolis. Oakland went on to lose the season finale against Denver – and with it, a shot at their first AFC West title since Ted Williams‘ head was cryogenically frozen.

And after that regular season finale flop, they were unceremoniously bounced from the first round of playoffs by a Houston Texans squad that manhandled them from the start. A Texans squad they’d beaten earlier in the season with Carr under center.

The combination of backup quarterbacks Matt McGloin and rookie Connor Cook weren’t able to do – well – anything. Over those final two games of the 2016 season, McGloin and Cook “led” a an offensive unit that put up a total of twenty points and 424 yards of total offense – combined.

Needing a backup quarterback heading into the 2017 season, and with Cook still under contract, the team went out and signed E.J. Manuel to handle clipboard duties with the hope that he never had to see the field.

Everybody’s worst fears were realized when Carr went down with a back injury in week four against the Broncos – a Transverse Process Fratcure in his back – that caused him to miss the team’s game with Baltimore the following week.

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That week five game went about how you’d expect – a 30-17 thrashing at the hands of the Ravens. The loss dropped the team to 2-3 on the year, and was just one more portent of even worse things to come.

Manuel wasn’t horrible in the game. Let’s face it, we’ve seen much worse from Raider backup quarterbacks in the not too distant past. So, while not horrible, Manuel wasn’t exactly – good – in that game either.

For the day, Manuel went 13/26 for 159 yards and a touchdown in a game that wasn’t even nearly as close as the final score might otherwise indicate.

So, here we are, heading into 2018 and the need for a capable backup quarterback is still pressing. The Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles both, showed us just how vital it is to have a backup quarterback who can step into the breach should the starter go down.

And rather than having to hold our breath, clutch our pearls, and just hope for the best should Carr suffer another injury this season, wouldn’t it be nice to have some confidence in the guy who takes over for him?

Which brings us to the question – what exactly are the Raiders going to do about a backup quarterback?

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With Manuel set to be a free agent, Cook is the only other quarterback on the roster. And, while it’s very possible – perhaps, even likely, given the dearth of viable options – that HC Jon Gruden opts to roll with just Cook as Carr’s understudy, it might not be the ideal scenario, given his lack of actual game experience.

Which would seem to invite the possibility that the team will be looking at bringing in another veteran to handle clipboard duty. While it’s possible the team could look to retain Manuel, truth be told, they need a higher caliber backup if they want to be truly prepared for the worst case scenario.

The problem is, the free agent quarterback market isn’t exactly – flush – with talent this year. The big names on the board, Kirk Cousins and Case Keenum, who figure to be starters somewhere in this quarterback-needy league and likely won’t settle for backup duty.

Then you have a second tier of quarterbacks that are injury prone – Sam Bradford. Are coming off catastrophic injury and are still facing question marks – Teddy Bridgewater. Lack any quality experience – A.J. McCarron. Whose best days may be behind them already – Matt Moore and Josh McCown. Or, who are just flat out terrible and probably shouldn’t have even a backup job anywhere – Jay Cutler and Geno Smith.

So – Cook aside – where does that leave the Raiders then?

Well, there are two names that have come up a number of times in connection with the team, and both have gotten some support from various corners of the Raider Nation. Those names of course, are Colin Kaepernick and surprisingly enough, Johnny Manziel.

Following his appearance on Good Morning America, where he spoke about his fall from grace and his desire to get back to the NFL, the league was awash in good feelings. We all love second chance stories about redemption, don’t we?

And predictably, of course, some old quotes Gruden had that praised Manziel as an athlete made the rounds and had certain corners of the Raider Nation clamoring for Johnny Football in a Silver and Black jersey.

The question that immediately springs to mind is – why?

All of the off-the-field issues aside, what has Manziel done on the field that would warrant bringing him in to backup Carr? How would Manziel be an upgrade over Cook and/or Manuel?

The short answer to that question, at this moment, has to be – he wouldn’t.

Manziel – who hasn’t set foot on an NFL field since 2015 – wasn’t anything all that special when he was on an active roster. Over his two years in Cleveland, where he appeared in 15 games – making eight starts – Manziel compiled a 57 percent completion percentage (147/258 passsing) for 1,675 yards, and had seven touchdowns and seven interceptions. Manziel’s career passer rating is 74.4

And after evaluating Manziel on the field, you absolutely have to evaluate him off the field as well. Yeah, he certainly talked a good game during his interview on GMA, and seemed sincere enough about cleaning up his act and walking the straight and narrow again.

But then, so did Aldon Smith and we all saw how well that worked out.

When it comes to players with very troubled, very checkered histories, it would be intellectually dishonest – and possibly very detrimental to your team – if you ignore their past.

Until Manziel proves that he’s on the straight and narrow, that he’s doing what’s necessary to restart his career, the Raiders shouldn’t touch him with a ten foot pole. If Gruden and GM Reggie McKenzie run out and snap him up, they could be setting this team up to fail without a reliable backup quarterback.

KANSAS CITY, MO – DECEMBER 27: Johnny Manziel /

Rather than Manziel, who still has much to prove if he genuinely wants to find his way back to the NFL, the Raiders should look at another castoff to be Carr’s understudy.

And that castoff, of course, is Colin Kaepernick.

In terms of on-the-field production, Kapernick far eclipses Manziel. He far eclipses Manuel. In fact, in terms of success on the field, he eclipses most of the free agent quarterbacks on the market.

Before you poo-poo that statement out of hand, ask yourself a couple of questions. How many playoff wins does Kirk Cousins have under his belt? How many does Case Keenum have? How many do A.J. McCarron, Matt Moore, Josh McCown, Teddy Bridgewater, Jay Cutler, and Geno Smith have?

Combined, those eight quarterbacks have a grand total of two playoff wins between them. Two. Kaepernick alone has four.

Yeah, you can argue that Kapernick’s last two seasons in San Francisco were a dumpster fire. Because they were. But, that has a lot more to do with the organizational turmoil left in the wake of the team’s decision to “mutually part ways” with Jim Harbaugh than it does with Kaepernick’s abilities as a quarterback.

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In Harbaugh’s system – a coach not so unlike Gruden, mind you – Kaepernick thrived. Over Harbaugh’s four years with Kapernick in San Francisco (2011-14), the quarterback went 25-14 as a starter, throwing for 8,415 yards on 61 percent passing (617/1,117), and threw 50 touchdowns against just 21 interceptions.

Under Jim Tomsula (2015) and then Chip Kelly (2016), Kapernick 3-16 as a starter, but still completed nearly 60 percent of his passes (340/575), for 3,865 yards, with 22 touchdowns against just nine interceptions.

The problem in San Francisco over Kapernick’s last two seasons were more about an organization in total and compete chaos, and less about him and his performance.

SANTA CLARA, CA – NOVEMBER 20: Colin Kaepernick /

Kaepernick has obviously angered a lot of people by spearheading the protests against racial injustice and inequality. So what? At least his “off the field issues,” aren’t illegal. He’s never been arrested for them. He’s said some things certain people didn’t like. Big deal.

He’s exercising his Constitutional rights and speaking out about an issue he’s very passionate about. An issue he’s put a lot of his own money into.

This is his freedom of speech and one of the cornerstones of this nation. It’s not like he’s out there beating his wife and/or girlfriend, getting arrested for DUI’s, drugs, or possessing assault rifles.

He spoke out about an issue close to his heart — an issue many athletes have spoken out about. Get over it. Like it or not, it’s their right as American citizens.

In terms of on the field production, Kaepernick is the best quarterback in this year’s free agent class. Gruden and McKenzie should be falling all over themselves to get him signed. Not only because of the success he’s had on the field, but because he’s trying to get back into the league, he can probably had at a pretty steep discount.

Though it may seem crass or crude to point that out, given the team’s cap situation, to be able to get a guy with that level of production at less than market value is a big win. And, it would also solve Oakland’s glaring need at the backup quarterback position.

Does Johnny Manziel deserve a second chance in this league, even after being a bad teammate in Cleveland, repeatedly giving the organization that drafted him the finger, assaulting his then-girlfriend, and being an obnoxious party-boy?

Sure, if somebody’s willing to sign him and deal with the potential headaches he could bring them should he slip back into his old Johnny Football persona.

That team though, shouldn’t be the Raiders. The situation with Aldon Smith should make them feel once bitten, twice shy, about bringing in a guy with a lengthy history of substance abuse and off-the-field problems.

In terms of picking one castoff backup quarterback over another, there really should be no debate. Kapernick is far more accomplished in this league and has a far better track record of success on the field than Manziel – than most of the free agent quarterbacks in this year’s crop.

Castoff or not, the Raiders need a solid backup quarterback. Kapernick is available. It’s a pairing that makes sense and would instantly upgrade the position without having to break the bank to do it.

Seems like a win-win, doesn’t it?

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