Jon Gruden insists Derek Carr won’t be traded

The Oakland Raiders are surely taking offers for practically any veteran player, but Jon Gruden insists Derek Carr won’t be traded.

Jon Gruden instantly made the Oakland Raiders the oldest roster in the league, with players who would have made up a heck of a team five years ago (Jordy Nelson, Doug Martin, etc.). Then Khalil Mack was traded to the Chicago Bears in the midst of a holdout that would have lingered into the season, and most recently, Amari Cooper was sent to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday.

Gruden has insisted the 1-5 Raiders aren’t tanking, which is what he’s supposed to say to fans in Oakland who will lose their team to Las Vegas soon. But practically any veteran player could be on the move before next Tuesday’s trade deadline, up to and including quarterback Derek Carr.

The New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars stand out as teams who could have some interest in Carr, and Gruden did suggest the Raiders weren’t shopping Cooper before the Cowboys apparently upped the ante. So any assertion Gruden makes about trades has to be taken with a grain of salt, but he made one to reporters on Wednesday anyway.

Not referring to Carr by his name might be the first clue to a bit of indifference, and Gruden may essentially be saying to other teams, “make your best offer, and I just might take it.” But given the current alternative, A.J. McCarron, Gruden also threw a level of support behind Carr.

Indications Carr has lost the faith of some of his teammates seem overblown. Gruden has his own concerns with losing the locker room after being disingenuous before and reportedly secretive after making the Cooper trade. Trading Carr might be the straw that breaks that camel’s back, as the remaining Raiders players fully realize they aren’t being given a legit chance to win games.

Gruden can say all he wants about not anticipating making any more trades, or that Carr won’t be traded. But skepticism says, at least right now, there’s no better than a coin flip’s chance Carr is still the Raiders’ quarterback next week at this time.