Oakland Raiders Preview: Breaking down the 2019 quarterbacks

We’re officially less than three months away from the kickoff of the Oakland Raiders 2019 season. Here’s a preview of the team’s quarterback depth chart.

The Oakland Raiders are just a few months away from kicking off a crucial 2019 season. After a disappointing 4-12 season in head coach Jon Gruden’s first year back with the team, all eyes will be on the Raiders to improve upon their record from last year.

Given the star-studded offseason that they put together, expectations are certainly high.

It remains to be seen if this squad is a legitimate playoff team just yet, but the hope is that they’ll at least be in the hunt. Simply put, another season with seven or fewer wins just won’t cut it.

Ultimately, the success of a football team boils down primarily to the play of one man — the quarterback. In the case of the Raiders, this upcoming season will be a pivotal one for starting quarterback Derek Carr.

Behind him sits a veteran backup in Mike Glennon and a young quarterback looking for a shot at redemption in Nathan Peterman.

We will be taking a look at each of the position groups for the Raiders and previewing them ahead of the 2019 season. First, let’s begin our journey with the quarterback position.

Derek Carr

We begin with the unquestioned leader and head-man of the Raiders offense, Derek Carr. However, that “unquestioned” part wasn’t exactly true for a lot of this offseason.

Speculation ran rampant that the Raiders would look to potentially select Carr’s replacement in this year’s draft, but nothing ever came of it.

Did the Raiders show interest? Yes, it’s pretty clear that they did. But it’s unlikely the team ever put too much serious consideration into the idea given Gruden’s propensity to lean on veterans and given the fact that we saw just one year of Carr in his offense.

However, 2019 will be a critical season for Carr.

Following some impressive numbers in 2015 and 2016 — including an MVP Caliber 2016 season, Carr has struggled to return to the same level of play. Much of the blame has fallen on the shoulders of his lackluster supporting cast, but that can no longer be an excuse.

The Raiders went out and completely revamped their offense in the offseason adding the likes of Antonio Brown, Tyrell Williams, and Josh Jacobs among others to round out what looks to be a very impressive skill position group. The team also signed prized free agent offensive tackle Trent Brown in free agency to hopefully shore up the offensive line that struggled at times in 2018.

All of this means that the blame game can no longer be played. If Carr is truly the franchise quarterback to lead the Raiders into the Las Vegas era, then he will prove it this year.

But if he struggles again, Gruden and the front office might have to rethink their plans at the quarterback position.