With The First Pick
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The Las Vegas Raiders need to be careful this offseason

By Lou Scataglia

CINCINNATI, OHIO - JANUARY 15: Derek Carr #4 of the Las Vegas Raiders calls a play in the first quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Wild Card playoff game at Paul Brown Stadium on January 15, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OHIO - JANUARY 15: Derek Carr #4 of the Las Vegas Raiders calls a play in the first quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Wild Card playoff game at Paul Brown Stadium on January 15, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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The Raiders seemed prepared to move off of QB Derek Carr, but is this the right thing to do in a league where decent QB play is so coveted?  Derek Carr has over 30,000 career passing yards and over 200 touchdown passes.

Not many quarterbacks in the history of the NFL can say that.  He’s largely been a very solid quarterback since entering the league in 2014.  Las Vegas has been a disaster of a franchise and Carr has been able to give them a steady presence for years.

Given that Josh McDaniels is on the staff as their head coach, the Raiders may opt to replace Carr for someone like Tom Brady or Jimmy Garoppolo, who both have strong connections with McDaniels.

They also might have a high enough draft pick to take someone in the 2023 NFL Draft.  The issue becomes twofold in my opinion.

Firstly, if the team would indeed have interest in Tom Brady or Jimmy Garoppolo, how are either an upgrade over Carr?  Brady is literally approach 50 years old, and Garoppolo is injury prone and not nearly as good of a quarterback as Carr is.

Is Las Vegas prepared to acknowledge that by pursing Brady or Garoppolo, their window opens, but only for a year or two?  Is the team able to act with that much urgency to build a Super Bowl caliber roster?

Secondly, if they decide to perhaps sign someone in a lesser tier and look at the NFL Draft, you’ve effectively acknowledged that you are going backwards as a team in 2023 and likely won’t be as competitive as you were in 2022.

Also, how do we know for sure that Josh McDaniels and the Raiders’ offensive staff will be able to develop said quarterback?  There is way too much unknown by moving on from Derek Carr and the team should strongly consider keeping him.

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