1. Pushing Derek Carr

Matt McGloin. Matt Schaub. Connor Cook. EJ Manuel. A.J. McCarron. Mike Glennon. These are the quarterbacks who have thrown passes for the Raiders as a backup to Carr since he came into the league in 2014. Mariota immediately becomes the best of the revised list.

Carr has never been pushed significantly, which is easily explained by the contract the previous Raiders’ regime gave him. Starter money (for a brief time high-end starter money)=no threat to your job.

Mariota, as expected, instantly said all the right things regarding his role as Carr’s backup. By a lot of measures, and as shown well by what can easily be called the “Quarterback Gunslinger Index” from Rotoworld’s Ian Hartitz, they are the same quarterback. So in a broader sense, the Raiders did not bolster their quarterback room.

But Mariota’s presence will put some real heat on Carr. If he can set aside being personally offended about the notion he will replaced, by Mariota or someone else, he has every reason to let it all hang out and perform at a previously unrealized level. If that yields more wins for the Raiders in 2020, Mariota’s signing will have the desired effect without him even taking the field.