Getty Former Oakland Raiders DB Charles Woodson with Josh Jacobs.
What a difference four games make. Through Week 11, the Oakland Raiders were 6-4 and it looked like they were poised for a playoff run. Derek Carr was playing well and the offseason rumors of Jon Gruden wanting to move on from the quarterback were a distant memory. Fast forward a month and the Raiders have done a complete 180. They’ve lost four straight ugly games and Carr hasn’t looked great in them.
Rumors have already started to circulate that Gruden and Carr aren’t going to last and the coach has been more open about criticizing his quarterback. Unless Carr blows up and looks amazing over the team’s last two games, the offseason is about to be filled with speculation that the Raiders are moving on from their longtime quarterback. One person who thinks it’s all smoke without a lot of fire is former Raider Charles Woodson. He was recently on The Rich Eisen Show where he gave his thoughts about his former teammate.
“I think it’ll be Derek Carr,” said Woodson when asked who he thought would the Raiders’ quarterback in 2020. “I don’t see them moving on from Derek Carr at this point. Derek Carr is a good quarterback. I don’t see why anybody would see otherwise and I don’t how anybody would come to the conclusion that Derek wouldn’t be the quarterback next season.”
Woodson is very familiar with Carr as the quarterback spent a few of his formative years playing with him. The future Hall of Famer thinks the team needs to exercise patience.
“I think if you give up on him too soon, I don’t think you’ll be able to get the best out of him. When I look at the team and it’s far more than Derek on that field.”
Regardless, the seat has gotten a lot hotter for Carr heading into 2020. Even if he remains the quarterback for the first season in Las Vegas, his leash is likely going to be a lot shorter.
Woodson Responds to Raiders Getting Booed at Home
Week 15 versus the Jacksonville Jaguars represented the Raiders’ last game in Oakland and many team legends were in attendance, including Woodson. After the team blew their lead and lost, an ugly scene unfolded as boos rained down from the crowd, many of which were directed at Carr. Woodson voiced frustration and also defended Carr.
“Very disappointed that that happened,” said Woodson about the booing. “Disappointed for anybody who would’ve been booing for Derek Carr. You know, he’s a guy that goes out there, man, and puts it all out there on the line, which [if] you like his play or don’t like his play, it doesn’t matter. He goes out there and plays hard.”
The loss was far from Carr’s fault. He had a blown call from the referees that ruined what should’ve been an epic play by him. He also had Tyrell Williams drop a third-down pass that would’ve sealed the game. Also, don’t forget that a potential game-winning touchdown pass bounced right off the facemask of Keelan Doss as time expired. Carr hasn’t been perfect in 2019, but Sunday’s loss is not on him and probably didn’t deserved to get booed off the field.
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Woodson’s Speech Before Last Oakland Game [WATCH]
It wasn’t all bad for the Raiders during the last game in the Coliseum. Much of that was thanks to Charles Woodson’s epic speech before the game.
“Look at all the guys that came back for this moment here today. We understand #RaiderNation. We understand Raider love.”
Watch @CharlesWoodson‘s emotional speech from Sunday’s game.
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