Charissa Thompson Reveals if Raiders QB Derek Carr Is on the Hot Seat

Getty Las Vegas Raiders QB Derek Carr.

The Las Vegas Raiders have arguably been the most disappointing team in the NFL through six weeks of football. For his part, Derek Carr has been solid but not nearly as prolific as many expected. He’s 13th in the NFL with 255.8 passing yards per game and has only tossed eight touchdown passes in five games.

The Raiders handed Carr a contract extension in the offseason so they clearly believe in him but if the team continues to be lackluster and he’s not putting up great numbers, they may start thinking about making a change. It would take a huge collapse for that to happen. Carr has been a polarizing quarterback for several years now and some fans would like to see him go.

However, Fox Sports analyst and Thursday Night Football host Charissa Thompson to Heavy Sports in an interview that she wouldn’t even consider moving on from Carr no matter how the season goes.

“No,” Thompson told Heavy Sports when asked if Carr would be on the hot seat if the Raiders have a losing season. “I would say this, and I don’t ever call for a player or a coach’s head, because until you have that viable replacement or until you tell me that you’re gonna put said person in that position, or you’ve got that next person on the bench waiting to come in, I say no. I still believe Derek Carr is a great quarterback. I think right now there are a lot of question marks on their defensive side of the ball. They haven’t lived up to expectations as well.

“I mean, they ranked 28th in the NFL in points allowed. And they have only created three turnovers. That pass rush, which you know, is dependent only on Maxx Crosby and he’s really kind of the only one that’s doing things right now. Chandler Jones hasn’t lived up to as much expectations as he probably wants and still has no sacks. So I just think that you got to look at both sides of the ball. Of course, [Carr] has all the attention because he’s the quarterback and that’s the way it goes. But I definitely do not think they should move on from Derek Carr yet.”

Thompson Talks Partnership With Smirnoff

In between her time hosting for Fox Sports and Thursday Night Football for Amazon, she’s working with Smirnoff to help recruit for their Cocktail Coordinator position this NFL season. She had a lot to say about her partnership with the company.

“Why did I want to team up with Smirnoff? Because they’re the official vodka sponsor of the NFL,” Thompson said. “And we’ve done a lot of different things in the past together, and I love working with them for a number of different reasons, a lot of their philosophies are also like mine. We like to have a good time, we drink responsibly, but it really comes down to having fun. And as someone who used to be a cocktail waitress/bartender in college, I go back to my roots and know that it really is, aside from my own job that I have right now, it is the other best job in America.

“And so we’re searching for a Cocktail Coordinator. And this Sunday, we will continue that search in Miami ahead of the Dolphins-Steelers matchup, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1972 undefeated Dolphins season. So we’re asking fans over the age of 21 to enter today and submit a video with their most crowd-pleasing championship-winning cocktail recipe and one lucky winner could get a chance to board a private plane with their crew and go to the Super Bowl this year in Arizona.”

Anybody who is interested in the Cocktail Coordinator opening can apply for the position at BestJobInAmerica.Smirnoff.com.

What Would It Take for Raiders to Sour on Carr?

It’s far too early in the Josh McDaniels-Derek Carr partnership to believe the Raiders are souring on the quarterback. He’s always taken some time to get comfortable in new offensive systems. If the team really wanted to, they could get out of Carr’s contract shortly after the season before it becomes guaranteed.

It’s still hard to imagine that they’d sour on him. The Raiders would have to finish with six or fewer wins and Carr would have to look bad. He’s a good quarterback so it’s unlikely he’ll play poorly enough for the team to move on. The worst-case scenario for Carr is that they draft his replacement but they won’t move on from him outright.