Getty Oakland Raiders QB Derek Carr.
Patrick Mahomes may be the most exciting quarterback in the entire NFL, but the Kansas City Chiefs are going to have to eventually give him a record-breaking contract. There’s no question he’s deserving of it. The problem is, his cap hit is going to be so significant it’s going to really hinder the Chiefs’ ability to add free agents in the future.
Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr may not be as exciting as Mahomes. However, he’s playing at a high level and his contract is looking very favorable for the Raiders. The team made him the NFL’s highest-paid quarterback back in 2017, but he’s now the 10th just a couple of years later. This gives the team a lot of cap flexibility through 2022. This fact led to Fox Sports’ Jason Whitlock to make a pretty bold statement.
Today’s #Whitlogue: The Raiders have their dream Carr. A luxury QB with a low-price tag. @WhitlockJason
“Let me tell you why I love Derek Carr: the price,” said Whitlock on Speak For Yourself. “He’s like a Hyundai Palisade, you get all the luxury of a Cadillac Escalade, but there’s no sticker shot. The Raiders paying Carr $20 million this season, next season and the next two seasons after that. This is a dream scenario.
“This is the Tom Brady-New England Patriots scenario. Apologies to my favorite quarterback, Patrick Mahomes – the Raiders have the best quarterback situation in the AFC West.”
Whitlock isn’t saying Carr is better than Mahomes, but there’s no doubt that money should be factored in when evaluating a quarterback situation. Mahomes is already an NFL MVP and there’s no question he deserves to be the league’s highest-paid quarterback. There’s also no question that his eventual contract is likely going to hurt the Chiefs’ ability to add talent around him. Whitlock went on to sing more praise towards Carr.
“How can anyone criticize Derek Carr at this time? He’s playing exceptional football, he’s completing a career-high 71% of his passes. Halfway through the season, he’s been sacked just nine times and thrown just four interceptions.”
Former pro bowl linebacker LaVar Arrington agreed with Whitlock.
“[Carr] most certainly is the best quarterback situation in the AFC West,” said Arrington.
Considering Carr hasn’t always gotten the highest praise in the media, those are some bold statements by Whitlock. There’s no doubt that the quarterback’s impressive play in 2019 has helped change opinions on him, but not everybody is sold just yet.
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Derek Carr Isn’t a Winner, Says Marcellus Wiley
The biggest knock on Carr is that he doesn’t have a great winning percentage throughout his career. He’s 36-50 and has only broke .500 one season in his career. While that almost certainly isn’t all on Carr, Whitlock’s co-host Marcellus Wiley seems to think it is.
“[Derek Carr] has lost one, two , three , four, five of his six seasons,” said Wiley. “He’s on his fourth head coach in a six-year career… Derek Carr can’t win.”
LaVar Arrington came to Carr’s defense.
“You can’t put what you just said on the quarterback,” said Arrington in reply to Wiley. “You have to put that on how the functionality of the organization is.”
Oakland has been a losing franchise since 2002, long before Carr was around. Yes, there are quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers who can almost single-handily lead their teams to a winning record. However, it’s ridiculous to expect that from Carr. Who’s to say Tom Brady would have all this success if he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns and was never coached by Bill Belichick? There’s almost no way he’d have won as much as he has. Carr hasn’t been perfect, but he’s getting better under Jon Gruden and has proven to be an above-average quarterback.
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