The Raiders haven’t given up on Derek Carr just yet

The Las Vegas Raiders may have shown interest in other quarterbacks this offseason, but they haven’t given up on Derek Carr just yet.

Derek Carr will be the quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020. That much was never really too much in doubt, but it bears repeating after an offseason of rumors.

Going into 2020, the odds are that Carr will be the team’s starting quarterback. That doesn’t mean he will be in 2021 — it doesn’t even mean that he will be by the end of the year.

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But it does mean that the Raiders still have some faith in Carr. They believe that he could be the quarterback not only of the present, but of the future. They believe they could win with him.

Whether they can at this stage or not is undetermined, but the Raiders are willing to give him a third year in Jon Gruden’s system to prove that he’s still the guy.

The Raiders flirted with Tom Brady in the offseason fueling rumors that the team was ready to move on from Carr. Trade discussions ensued at the NFL Combine, but those talks never transpired into actual offers.

General manager Mike Mayock wasn’t going to just trade Carr for the sake of doing so. The only way Carr wasn’t going to be the starting quarterback in 2020 was if they landed Brady.

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And that’s hardly something to feel spited over.

Brady is arguably the greatest quarterback of all-time and is in a league of his own. His resumé doesn’t need to be spoken for. There is no need to make an argument in favor of him signing him.

He’s Tom Brady. Mayock knows that. Gruden knows that. And you better believe Derek Carr knows that.

It’s why players like Josh Jacobs and Trent Brown weren’t shy about expressing interest in playing alongside him. This is Tom Brady we’re talking about. Regardless of your take on his last couple of seasons, any player would love to play on the same team as him.

That isn’t a knock on Carr or an expression of a lack of faith. It’s praise for one of the greatest to ever play the game.

The Raiders also brought in Marcus Mariota as a high-upside insurance policy in case Carr flounders. Again, this doesn’t mean they’ve given up on Carr, but it does mean that they want to present a challenge to him for the first time in his seven-year career.

Of course, the possibility still remains that the team could select a quarterback in the 2020 NFL Draft. Rumors of the Raiders’ interest in Jalen Hurts have circulated, but his impressive showing at the NFL Combine may have pushed him out of the team’s range.

After being considered a fourth-round pick, Hurts could now go as early as the second round. And without a pick in that round, the Raiders could be forced to trade up if they still want him.

And at this stage, taking a quarterback in the first round seems highly unlikely.

The Raiders still trust Carr, but they aren’t willing to bet their future on him. They don’t know if Carr is the future, but they’ll give him a chance to prove that he is next season.

One thing’s for sure, 2020 will be the most important season of Derek Carr’s career.