Silver Minings: Derek Carr was strong when pressured in 2020

Derek Carr detractors often point to his lack of poise under pressure.

I’ve heard so many times that Carr hasn’t been the same player since he broke his leg against the Indianapolis Colts in December 2016. I’ve always thought that was a lazy narrative and unfair to Carr.

These stats from the NFL’s @NextGenStats suggest otherwise. The Las Vegas Raiders’ quarterback was ranked ninth in the NFL while under pressure.

The guidelines were a quarterback had to throw at least 250 passes and have a positive completion percentage over expectation. According to Next Gen Stats, Carr averaged 8.7 yards per attempt under pressure, which was the second-best mark in the league.

The report also stated that Carr showed a quick release as he had a 111.6 passer rating with 13 touchdowns and just two interception on quick passes.

These are sure signs that Carr has improved in key areas and he enters his eighth NFL season and fourth under coach Jon Gruden, he can continue to make strides and continue to pour water on false narratives.

In other Raiders’ links:

• OTA talk: The Athletic has notes from the Raiders’ OTA sessions this week.
• Division foe underrated? Running back Melvin Gordon thinks his Denver Broncos are not talked about enough. OK, dude.
• A look at Thomas’ return: The Las Vegas Review Journal looks at the how new Raiders’ defensive tackle is ahead of schedule in his return from a torn ACL.
• Preseason schedule confirmed: We’ve known the Raiders’ preseason schedule for a while, but here is the entire NFL preseason schedule.
• Meet the pets: Raiders’ safety Johnathan Abram showed an off-field side of him and introduced his giant pup Amo in an episode of Meet the Pets.