Getty Former Raiders QB AJ McCarron.
One of the first quarterback moves Jon Gruden did when joining the Raiders was pull off a trade for AJ McCarron. He sent the Buffalo Bills a fifth-round pick to acquire the signal-caller back in 2018. He only ended up appearing in two games for the Raiders and attempted just three passes.
The hope was that he would be a long-term option as a solid backup quarterback but that didn’t end up being the case. The team released him after just one season. McCarron spent the last two seasons with the Houston Texans but now has a new home. The Atlanta Falcons announced on Friday that they’ve agreed to terms with the veteran quarterback.
We have agreed to terms with QB AJ McCarron.
Matt Ryan is entrenched as the starter in Atlanta so McCarron will be competing to be his backup. The Falcons decided to forego drafting a quarterback early in the draft, which shows their commitment to Ryan. McCarron only has four career starts and six career passing touchdowns.
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Raiders Skip on QB Once Again in Draft
For the first time since Gruden took over the Raiders, it looked like the team might not be linked to a quarterback heading into the draft. However, that changed when NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the team did “extensive work” on the draft’s quarterbacks and could take one of the top guys if they fell. When Justin Fields fell out of the top-10, the Raiders could’ve easily tried to trade up before the Chicago Bears did. There’s been no indication they even tried so it’s safe to assume that the team wasn’t actually all that interested in a quarterback.
Gruden hasn’t drafted a quarterback in any round since he became the head coach. While many in the media constantly talk about how he’s never satisfied at quarterback, he seems pretty satisfied with Derek Carr. It’s going to be hard to buy into the notion that the Raiders are going to try and upgrade the position unless they come out and say it themselves.
Aaron Rodgers to Raiders?
A quarterback controversy isn’t going to come from the draft but that doesn’t mean the Raiders are in the clear quite yet. Pro Football Talk recently reported that Las Vegas is among the teams that Aaron Rodgers would like to be traded to should he leave the Green Bay Packers. The Raiders like Derek Carr but Rodgers was the league’s MVP last season and has been to back-to-back championship games.
It’s unlikely they make a move, but Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock will at least have to give it some thought. That said, it’s hard to imagine anything happens. Russell Wilson also expressed interest in going to the Raiders and there haven’t been any reports that they actually reached out to the Seattle Seahawks. Rodgers carries a massive price tag and can cause headaches. Carr is cheap and isn’t one to cause controversy. That seems to be the type of player Gruden would rather have leading his team despite not being as gifted a quarterback.