5 reasons the Antonio Brown trade is great for the Raiders

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - DECEMBER 23: Antonio Brown #84 of the Pittsburgh Steelers reacts after a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints during the second half at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on December 23, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

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KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – DECEMBER 30: Quarterback Derek Carr #4 of the Oakland Raiders in action during the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on December 30, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

3. Helping out Derek Carr

This one is pretty obvious, but Brown’s presence can get Carr back into that MVP-caliber form that he had in 2015 and 2016. In those two seasons, he threw for 7,924 yards and 60 touchdowns in 31 games. He had 19 interceptions during that time too.

Outside of those two seasons, it has been tough sledding for the former second-round pick. We all saw how much of a struggle Carr had in 2018. While he did have a career-high in passing yards (4,049), he threw for a career-low 19 touchdowns.

Some of Carr’s struggles were from learning under a new head coach, but the lack of touchdowns can be directly linked to the insufficient talent at the skill positions.

As mentioned already, Crabtree and Cooper were forced out of town. Without them, Carr was left working with what the team was giving him, which wasn’t much. Brown will allow Carr to flash the big arm and give the signal-caller some of that confidence he seemed to have lost last season.

When you’re paying your quarterback as much as the Raiders are paying Carr, surrounding him with talent is a must. Putting 84 in silver and black will make that investment much more efficient than it was last season.

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