Derek Carr and the Las Vegas Raiders were hoping to pull off the road upset against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Unfortunately, that did not end up happening. Despite putting up a great fight, the Raiders ended up losing to the Bengals by a final score of 26-19.
Without a doubt, the upcoming offseason will once again be full of rumors surrounding Carr’s future with the Raiders. Some fans believe he should stick around for another year, while others want a change. It will be interesting to see what the franchise decides to do.
Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III is among those who are all onboard with Carr. He took to Twitter to share major praise for Carr even after suffering the loss in the Wild Card.
Man, not the outcome the Raiders wanted but Derek Carr doesn’t get enough credit as a player or a leader. After all the Raiders have dealt with this year, he lead them through the storm and into the playoffs. We have to start giving him the respect he has earned.
All season long, the Raiders were thrown obstacle after obstacle. Jon Gruden was forced to resign as the team’s head coach after offensive emails were uncovered by the NFL. Then, both Henry Ruggs III and Damon Arnette were cut from the team due to major off-the-field issues.
With everything that the team went through, simply getting to the playoffs was a massive feat. Carr was a true leader throughout everything and deserves praise for that. However, there are still some major questions that need to be answered about whether or not he’s the quarterback to take them to Super Bowl contention.
During the 2021 season, Carr completed 68.4 percent of his pass attempts for 4,804 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. Those numbers aren’t great, but they aren’t horrible either. Against the Bengals, he completed 29 of his 54 passes for 310 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
There is no question that Derek Carr deserves praise for getting the Raiders into the playoffs. But, there should still be some conversations about whether or not he’s the long-term fit for the franchise.
