Since he was drafted in 2014, Derek Carr has slowly but surely improved as a quarterback and has helped put the Oakland Raiders back on the football map. In a year where Blake Bortles and Johnny Manziel were both heavily discussed in their draft class, Carr was put on the back burner but has become the best out of the three. Blake is still trying to figure out who he is and Johnny Manziel, well, I won’t get into that at the moment. Carr was selected in the second round with the 36th pick in the 2014 NFL Draft and after a pretty successful start to his career, Derek Carr was rewarded with a five-year/$125 million contract which makes him the highest paid player in NFL history.
Derek Carr has emerged as one of the best quarterbacks in the league today. At 6’3 and 215 pounds, the first thing that should immediately stand out to people is the ability to be shifty in the pocket and move around and he has a lot of zipping action on the ball when he throws it. He hits his receiver in stride perfectly. He has a quick release when he throws the football and the decision making he shows is also top of the line. He can step up into the pocket to get the ball to his receivers, he can run it to get some extra yards and move the chains along with creating and making throws on the run and he’s exactly the type of playmaker that you want under center as your quarterback leading your offense. The numbers are also impressive. Since entering the league in 2014, he’s thrown a total of 81 touchdown passes in his career. Last season, he was having the best year of his young career before breaking his leg in week 16. If he doesn’t get injured, he’s the league MVP and not Matt Ryan. Once Carr went down, you immediately saw the impact he has on his team. The Raiders lost their final regular season game in Denver then were eliminated in the Wild Card round against Houston. What else stands out to me is how clutch he is and how he comes through when his team needs him. I remember that game in Tampa Bay last year just how cool and calm he was and he threw a dart over the middle of the field and he scored. Then, there’s the Carolina game. He actually injured his finger and still came back and led the Raiders to a victory.
Is he deserving of a contract extension? Absolutely. He’s become a star that’s bought the Silver and Black back to football reality. Now the second question is has he done enough to become the highest paid player? That’s the only thing I’m really questioning right now. It should be a fun year for Raider Nation now that they’ve locked up Carr to a long-term deal. I’ve always called him one of the two staples of that franchise with Derek Carr and Khalil Mack.
