Sounds like Mike Mayock is giving Derek Carr a chance to prove he’s the Raiders’ franchise quarterback

We now know that head coach Jon Gruden and new general manager Mike Mayock will lead the Oakland Raiders into the future. The next person down the chain of command is the quarterback and there are many that doubt Derek Carr will be that guy. When asked about it at his introductory press conference, Mayock sounded fairly non-committal about it.

“That’s really part of my study right now,” said Mayock of whether Derek Carr is the future of the franchise. “Bottom line, it’s easy to pick names right now, but I’m not going to make a comment on anybody on the current roster until I’ve done a complete deep dive and I’ve had a chance to meet with all of the coaches.”

The next day, he on NFL Network that day, Mayock sounded a bit more solid on Carr. He sounded like he wants to give the $100 million QB another year.

“I had him as the No. 20 overall pick in the draft so I had him as a 1st-round pick coming out of Fresno,” Mayock said of Carr. “He can spin it with anybody and I think that’s the key. From arm strength and athletic ability, he’s as good as anybody out there. Now do you have to protect him? Do you have to get him some weapons to fairly evaluate the quarterback position? I think you do.”

Mayock has been the voice of reason on matters regarding the draft for years on NFL Network. Now, he’s an official voice of reason in Gruden’s ear and there’s plenty of reason in his voice in regards to Carr.

There is no Andrew Luck or Patrick Mahomes in the draft this year. So rolling with the 2016 NFL MVP candidate in his second year in a new system doesn’t sound like a bad idea. And if he can’t get it done in 2019, the 2020 draft figures to have some solid QB’s.