Getty Derek Carr with Las Vegas Raiders teammates.
The Las Vegas Raiders have made the decision to move on from Derek Carr and he should be off the roster in the next month. It will take years to know if the team made the right decision but there’s a valid argument that a change needed to be made. Carr holds every major statistical passing record for the franchise but he never won a playoff game in nine years.
Many have defended the quarterback and blamed the Raiders for his lack of postseason success. There’s certainly merit to that argument but Carr isn’t without blame. Former linebacker K.J. Wright played in Las Vegas last season and was a teammate of Carr for the playoff run. While he has a lot of respect for the quarterback, he doesn’t blame the Raiders for wanting to move on.
“I love Derek Carr. I loved playing with him,” Wright said on the January 11 episode of “The Jim Rome Show.” “His performance was similar to last year but we were just finding ways to win games. His decision-making is like, ‘what are you looking at, what were you thinking?’ And that roster was way too talented to put on that kind of performance that they did this year. … At the end of the day, they brought in the house for Derek Carr, they built up the defense. And so for him to just make those poor decisions, for him to lose those ball games he did; over his career, he’s under .500, only been to one playoff game, won zero. … We’ve given you nine years here. The results have been pretty mediocre so they had to make a hard decision … we’re in the business of winning so they had to make that move.”
It’s important to note that Wright suggested the Raiders’ defense was better this season but they finished 26th in scoring, which is exactly the same position they finished last season in.
Former #Raider @KJ_WRIGHT34, who played with Derek Carr is saying what most of the guys on the team CAN’T say right now. Nice guy but he wasn’t the RIGHT guy. It is what it is #RaiderNation
Did Raiders Make the Right Call?
Carr is technically still under contract with the Raiders so there remains a scenario in which he could return. However, that’s extremely unlikely. It’ll be difficult to know if the Raiders made the right call right now and much of that will depend on who they replace him with.
If the team signs Tom Brady and wins a Super Bowl, then there’s no question they made the right move. The team could also draft the next superstar quarterback and fans would quickly forget about Carr. There’s also a scenario where Carr goes to a new team and lights up the field. That would be a tough pill for Las Vegas to swallow.
Wright Believes Raiders Should’ve Kept Rich Bisaccia
Wright was only with the Raiders for a brief time but saw a lot during the 2021 season. Interim head coach Rich Bisaccia led the team to an improbable playoff run but not even that was enough for him to keep the job going forward. Based on how Josh McDaniels‘ first season went as head coach, many fans are lamenting the fact that Bisaccia wasn’t retained. Wright thinks the Raiders would’ve been much better this season had they kept the coach.
“They would have been really good,” Wright said on “The Zach Gelb Show.” “They bought into his style. He held guys accountable. When Derek Carr played bad, he put it on the board like ‘this is what you’re doing, I need you to do way better in this aspect.’ He came in the defensive meeting rooms. He was in the special team meeting rooms. This team would have still been great, but … Josh McDaniels is there and it’s been a complete disaster so far.”
.@KJ_WRIGHT34 thinks the Raiders would be having a phenomenal season if Mark Davis kept Rich Bisaccia as head coach instead of hiring Josh McDaniels.
Full Zach Gelb Show chat on @CBSSportsRadio with K.J. Wright here: t.co/2RHuR9LBDw
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Former Teammate Defends Raiders for Benching Derek Carr