Josh McDaniels is scapegoating Derek Carr with Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders are clearly gearing up to trade Derek Carr, but head coach Josh McDaniels should really be the one leaving town.
The Las Vegas Raiders can bench Derek Carr. They can trade Derek Carr this offseason.
But they aren’t solving the problem.
Instead, the problem is the man in Carr’s earpiece on Sundays. The man who a decade ago ran Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall out of Denver, leaving the Broncos in disgrace less than two seasons into his tenure.
The problem is Josh McDaniels, head coach of a 6-9 Raiders team now benching Carr presumably to make sure he’s healthy going into the offseason, therefore avoiding a trigger on future guaranteed money.
While Carr has struggled in his latest offensive system, he’s not the main culprit for a disappointing season in Las Vegas.
That would be McDaniels, who has seen his team blow a 20-0 lead to the Arizona Cardinals, lose a pair of 17-0 advantages against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Kansas City Chiefs, fall after leading 16-3 lead in the final five minutes to the Baker Mayfield-led Los Angeles Rams, and lost at home to Jeff Saturday in his head-coaching debut.
In a related note, Saturday hasn’t won since. McDaniels is the only coach he’s beaten since being pulled out of an ESPN studio and onto the Colts sideline in the middle of the season.
The spin coming out of Las Vegas will be about Carr moving forward. You’ll hear well-placed leaks about why he’s the biggest issue, how he wasn’t absorbing the offense. You’ll hear about why the Raiders must move on from a soon-to-be 32-year-old quarterback, wanting to give McDaniels a long-term running mate.
But that’s all manufactured reality.
The truth is Carr just led the Raiders to a 10-7 record and a playoff berth in unfathomably tough conditions. Conditions which included head coach Jon Gruden resigning in disgrace, and top receiver Henry Ruggs III being released after he killed a woman in a drunk-driving automobile accident.
Less than a year ago, Carr was the gallant football hero who was the leader of a rudderless franchise. Now, he’s the scapegoat for a coach who hasn’t won anything when Tom Brady isn’t by his side.
Looking at his situation, it’s incredible Carr has enjoyed the level of success he’s achieved over the years.
In nine seasons with the Raiders, Carr has played for six head coaches. The rosters around him have varied from competent to contemptible. He’s dealt with rumors of a relocation and then, finally, a move before the 2020 season.
Through it all, Carr has been an unwavering pillar for a franchise hellbent on self-destruction. He made three Pro Bowls, carried the Raiders to a pair of playoff berths, and consistently took the tough questions when others should have.
Now, in a year where the defense has once more been horrific and the coaching has followed suit, it appears the Raiders’ final act with Derek Carr will be to blame and then trade him.
And soon enough, Las Vegas will. The Raiders are going to get offers — one NFL general manager felt a first-round pick attached to a mid-rounder would be an appropriate return — and deal Carr away. Carr should be thrilled, potentially landing on a team housing stability he’s never known.
As for the Raiders?
They’ll have McDaniels, a hole to fill at quarterback and nobody left to take the blame any longer.