Derek Carr rumors: 100% chance rookie QB starts week 1 for Raiders?

Derek Carr made believers out of a lot of people with his 3 touchdown performance in Thursday’s preseason finale against the Seahawks, but did he do enough to convince Raiders coach Dennis Allen he should start week 1 over veteran Matt Schaub?

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According to one insider, the answer to that question is yes, yes 100% yes.

In an appearance on PFT Live, Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle all but guaranteed that Carr will get the nod over Schaub when the season opens for the Raiders Sept. 7 against the Jets.

That quote certainly makes it seem that Tafur has some inside information on what is going on in Oakland.

A QB controversy was bound to ensue when the Raiders followed up their acquisition of Schaub by drafting Carr in the second round out of Fresno State.

The 32-year-old Schaub was acquired by Oakland in a trade from Houston, and had his $11 million salary for 2014 renegotiated to $4.5 million guaranteed with a $3.5 million signing bonus.

At that salary, there was no guarantee that Schaub would win the starting job. Still, up till the last preseason game it was widely believed that Schaub would be the starter with Carr riding the bench at least to begin the season.

But when Carr went wild against Seattle, throwing for 143 yards and 3 TDs, all bets were off.

After such a commanding performance, it will be hard for Dennis Allen and the Raiders to justify leaving the rookie on the bench while the mediocre veteran plays. Indications are that Oakland means to start the season with Carr at the helm, but we’ll have to wait for official confirmation on that.