Updated: May 13, 2025
- Will Derek Carr be the Raiders QB next year?
- Do the Raiders spend a 1st round pick on a pivot?
- Jon Gruden’s wild first season shows anyone is expendable
If you want to sum up the Raiders’ first season under new head honcho of everything, Jon Gruden, the word you’d most likely come up with is sad.
If you were to do it with a play, look no further than Week 10.
Down 14 in the 4th quarter Derek Carr intentionally threw it into the ground….ON 4TH AND 5 pic.twitter.com/9iF95RMnG4
— Cody Tapp (@codybtapp) November 11, 2018
Instead of a return to the glory days of the Silver and Black, it’s been … much of the same old Raiders of the past 20 years.
But Gruden’s twist? He’s stripping the meat down to the bone, gutting the roster of legit talent, and upping Oakland’s draft capital in the process as the team embarks on a rebuild on the fly.
Jon Gruden's Raiders have been chaotic, and one veteran says, “They’re trying to find a reason to get anybody out of here.” https://t.co/9tvPFSLuwB pic.twitter.com/rDfC7Qu2D9
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 8, 2018
Which brings us to the Derek Carr question: what the heck does Chucky have up his sleeve for his supposed franchise QB?
Bovada is trying to pick his mind, so let’s ride along and explore these odds.
Odds Derek Carr Starts for the Raiders in 2019
| Will Carr Be The Raiders QB to Start the 2019 Regular Season? | Odds at Bovada |
|---|---|
| Yes | -175 |
| No | +135 |
Analysis: At one point, the Raiders’ core consisted of one of the best defensive players in the NFL, one of the promising wide receivers in the game, and Carr, who was inked to a 5-year $125 million contract in June of 2017.
There. Is. No. Way. To. Stop. Khalil. Mack.#Bears pic.twitter.com/sErgAt5SuW
— Sporting News Canada (@sportingnewsca) November 11, 2018
Since then, Khalil Mack has gone on to wreck offensive plans as a member of the 6-3 Chicago Bears and Amari Cooper again looks like a receiving threat reviving the moribund Cowboys passing attack.
Amari Cooper gets his 1st TD in Dallas #RollTide pic.twitter.com/44YXWCbekX
— Alabama DieHards (@AlabamaDieHards) November 6, 2018
Meanwhile, Carr has flailed under Gruden as the lone Oakland cornerstone.
Derek Carr 2018 Statistics
| Starts | Record | Comp % | Yards | TD | INT | Rate | Sacks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 1-8 | 71.3 | 2,441 | 10 | 8 | 93.2 | 28 |
He is enjoying a career year in completion percentage, but he’s on pace for the worst record in his five years as a starter.
Carr is also taking an inordinate amount of punishment. He’s been sacked 28 times, three off his season-high of 31 in 2015 – and there’s still seven games to play.
If a picture is worth a thousand words right now none of them are good for the Raiders.
Derek Carr once again running for his life and sacked 4 times in the 20-6 loss to the Chargers. @ABC30 pic.twitter.com/DnxHoBdYRG— Stephen Hicks (@StephenABC30) November 12, 2018
That 2016 campaign where Carr guided Oakland to a 12-3 mark before breaking his leg is now looking like the outlier, as it’s his only winning season. Take away that year, and he’s a pedestrian 17-39 as a starter in the NFL.
The unexplainable horrible terrible interception Derek Carr just threw #LARvsOAK
pic.twitter.com/D7A8924bhx— Armchair NFL (@ArmchairNFL) September 11, 2018
That’s Chad Henne (18-35), Jamies Winston (19-29), and Derek Anderson (20-29) territory.
Gruden is unpredictable, and he could easily flip Carr for a draft pick. But it's his actions that resonate: when it came down to the max salary player on his team, he chose the QB over his all-world defender.
For that reason, I think he’s tied to Carr for better or worse. The winning wager is -175 for YES.
Odds Gruden Takes a QB in the 1st Round of 2019 NFL Draft
| Will the Raiders Draft a QB in the First Round of the 2019 NFL Draft | Odds at Bovada |
|---|---|
| Yes | +155 |
| No | -120 |
Analysis: Now, that doesn’t preclude Gruden from plucking a QB from the first round of the draft.
Even if they use one of those three (3!) first-round picks on a pivot (and they currently have the inside track to the top overall pick), Carr would likely serve as a bridge to the future.
But those three first-rounders should really fill other massive shortcomings.
Hours later this Frank Clark sack is still making me laugh pic.twitter.com/QqmYDH5DRy
— hawkschronicle (@HawksChronicle) October 15, 2018
The offensive line is old, dinged up and over-matched, and the players they drafted – Kolton Miller and Brandon Parker – were thrust into roles they weren’t ready for.
The defense is woeful. They are surrendering 399.1 yards of total offense (only five teams are worse) and being pierced on the ground to the tune of 141 yards a game (30th).
Browns rookie RB Nick Chubb forces a slew of missed tackles, including an egregious miss from #Raiders' Erik Harris, on a 41-yard TD run.pic.twitter.com/A5iNWQzhjC
— Austin Gayle (@PFF_AustinGayle) September 30, 2018
And the true salt in the wound: they are the only team in the NFL that has registered single-digit sacks to this point in the season, with a measly eight. It’s no wonder they’re one of just three teams in the NFL surrendering 30 points a game.
Nick Mullens made his first career TD pass look too easy ?
[via @thecheckdown]
pic.twitter.com/t4kt3QwMe8
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) November 2, 2018
At least you can make the case that Carr is serviceable. Those other holes are gaping, and need to be plugged fast.
While +155 for YES looks good, I don’t think they draft a QB in the first round.
The post What Does Jon Gruden Do With Derek Carr? Bovada Believes He Stays appeared first on Sports Betting Dime.
Original source: https://www.sportsbettingdime.com/news/nfl/jon-gruden-derek-carr-bovada-believes-stays/
