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Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was forced to watch his offense from the sidelines for the first of the season in Week 15. For the first time since 2017, Carr had to miss time due to an injury. While it looked like his year was done, he’s going to try and play against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
Marcus Mariota played well in relief but Carr isn’t going to let go of his job so easily. Regardless, he had some really strong praise for Mariota’s performance.
“I thought Marcus did a great job,” Carr said. “For him to go into the game and do some of the things he did was unbelievable.
“As a fan of his, from afar, watching what he went through. I was just happy. I didn’t want to get hurt for it to have to happen, but I was happy to see him play and have success.”
Mariota proved that he was capable to run an effective offense with Carr out. However, Carr still gives the Raiders the best chance to win. Fortunately, the two men have a strong relationship so there shouldn’t be drama regardless of what happens.
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Jon Gruden Talks Changes With Mariota at the Helm
The Raiders should try to decide who their quarterback for this is going to be soon because Carr and Mariota have very different skill sets. Head coach Jon Gruden acknowledged that fact.
“You’ve seen us play, we switch gears,” Gruden said of Mariota. “We went to a completely different role offensively in a lot of places. But Mariota still proves he’s a dual-threat. He’s obviously very sharp. He can handle a lot of situations and if need be, he’ll be ready again.”
Carr has a big arm but doesn’t make a lot of plays with his feet. Mariota can make plays all over the field but won’t be hitting a ton of deep balls. The offense is built around Carr and his strengths so it would be ideal if he could play. That said, the playoffs are pretty much out of reach so it wouldn’t be the worst idea to see how Mariota looks these last two games.
Mariota Knows This Is Carr’s Team
If Mariota does play the last two games of the season and leads the team to two wins, there will likely be a quarterback controversy narrative heading into the offseason. The last two offseasons have been ripe with rumors the Raiders are moving on from Carr but the team hasn’t made a move.
Mariota is capable of helping the team finish strong but he’s not the quarterback of the future. He even acknowledged last offseason that the Raiders are Carr’s team. Mariota is there to do what a backup does. One solid performance against an injury-riddled Chargers team doesn’t mean he’s the quarterback of the future. Unless Mariota looks like Patrick Mahomes Jr. over the last two games, Carr shouldn’t lose his starting job anytime soon.
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