The Oakland Raiders are one of the most interesting teams to follow during this offseason for a number of reasons. Jon Gruden is making his much-awaited return to the sideline, Derek Carr has a fresh start and a clean bill of health, and the team added a bevy of players. Everything considered, the most important story to follow is which Carr will appear in 2018.
Back in the 2014 NFL Draft, the Raiders received a huge gift when Carr fell to them early in the second round. Naturally, the team quickly made him their franchise quarterback, hoping to erase the memories of JaMarcus Russell. Thankfully, that gamble has paid off so far. Despite showing some regression in 2018, Carr has shown more than enough for fans to have the utmost faith in him.
It was only two seasons ago when Carr was a candidate to win MVP before he broke his leg against the Indianapolis Colts. Naturally, when things are going well and the team soars to a 12-4 record, that is when you hire a new offensive coordinator. Right?
Of course, Carr was going to struggle when the team decided that replacing Bill Musgrave with a glorified high school coach was a good idea. Todd Downing had no business leading the Raiders offense in 2017, it is as plain as that. Add in the fracture in his spine, 2017 was about as bad as it could get for Carr.
With Gruden now in town, Carr and company have their eyes set on returning to the playoffs. Because the team will only go as far as Carr will take it, let’s look at three bold predictions for the Raiders signal caller.
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