Getty Derek Carr with Jon Gruden & Mike Mayock.
After the 2021 season that saw the Las Vegas Raiders reach the playoffs, it looked like Derek Carr was going to be the team’s starting quarterback for a long time. However, the team revamped its coaching staff and hired Josh McDaniels as head coach.
Carr struggled in the new system and was released by the team last year. While Carr has had an up and down career, he made four Pro Bowls with the Raiders. Former general manager Mike Mayock was with the team to see Carr’s progress and believes that former head coach Jon Gruden deserves a lot of credit for how the quarterback play.
Mayock actually took a subtle jab at Carr while discussing this topic.
“I thought Jon did an unbelievable job with Derek Carr,” Mayock said on the April 2 episode of “3 & Out.” “Since Jon left, Derek has gone downhill.”
Carr’s last season in Gruden’s offense in 2021 saw him throw for a career-high 4,804 yards and 23 touchdowns. He has not throw for more than 4,000 yards since but has thrown for more than 23 touchdowns in each of the last two seasons. None of Carr’s Pro Bowl seasons came when Gruden was his head coach.
Mike Mayock Addresses Derek Carr Trade Rumors
Even when Derek Carr was playing under Jon Gruden, the quarterback was the subject of consistent trade rumors. The idea was that the coach wanted to upgrade at the position but according to Mike Mayock, the Raiders never seriously considered moving on from the quarterback.
“No,” Mayock said when asked if the Raiders ever considered trading Carr. “The reality is that there’s always going to be X number of franchise quarterbacks. … One group below that is another five or six guys that I think you can win with. … I felt strongly that each year with Jon [Gruden], Derek got better and by the end of the ’21 season, whether you were a Derek Carr guy or not, I think you’d have to say he was a top 12 or 13 quarterback.”
Carr is still the Raiders’ all-time leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns. While he never won a playoff game with the team, it’s difficult to find competent quarterback play and Las Vegas is currently struggling to solve the position since moving on from Carr.
Mike Mayock Explains Why Las Vegas Raiders Wouldn’t Trade Derek Carr
Even though the Raiders didn’t seriously explore Derek Carr’s trade options, Mike Mayock wouldn’t have been opposed to making a change in the right situation. However, he never found a worthwhile situation.
“Somebody can give you a first-round pick but if you don’t have an answer for who’s getting under center next year, that first round pick isn’t doing you any good. … We never got an answer satisfactory of how we would replace Derek,” Mayock said. “And from our perspective, we were getting better every year.”
The Raiders never groomed a young successor for Carr while Mayock was there so the team didn’t have many options if they would’ve moved on. In hindsight, the team would’ve been better off trading Carr as he was eventually released for nothing and the Raiders still haven’t won a playoff game since 2002.