HENDERSON, Nev. While Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden will be “optimistic” quarterback Derek Carr on Saturday against the Miami Dolphins, nine days after he suffered a sprained groin, Gruden would not announce who would start as quarterback – Carr or Marcus Mariota.
“That’s my plan now, while I’m sitting here,” Gruden said on Thursday, when specifically asked if Carr, the franchise’s all-time greatest passer, would be in uniform.
“But again, these groins are funny. You saw what happened last Thursday night. I mean he runs to the right and I haven’t seen him for the rest of the game. So I’m not going to say anything other than I’m optimistic. But I’m not a mind reader. I just know he had an injury that made him miss last week and I respect that. He’s a tough guy, man. But I’m optimistic he’ll be ready to go, yeah. “
In terms of a timeline, Gruden said, “We’ll see what happens here [Friday] in terms of which way we’re going, but we’ve got two quarterbacks ready to play. “
After being “restricted” in practice on Tuesday, Carr was a “full” competitor on Wednesday and Thursday, sharing the reps with Mariota, who replaced Carr after crashing against the Los Angeles Chargers late in the first quarter.
Mariota surprised the Chargers with his ability and willingness to run the ball – he rushed to a game-high 88 yards with a 2-yard touchdown and passed for 226 yards and a TD – in the loss of 30-27 overtime.
On Tuesday, Carr said he would “do everything he can to be on that field” against the Dolphins (9-5).
“Again, I think the best part of my game is my mind and it still works,” he said.
“I did everything I could to make myself available this week and I will continue to do my best to do so because I have promised [Gruden] I would. That’s just who I am. It may not always be perfect, but when I’m gone they will know I gave everything I had, that’s for sure. “
Gruden said Carr showed “many good things in practice” this week.
“You know, I’m not letting the cat get out of the bag here,” Gruden said. ‘I’m going to know for sure [Carr] is okay. I’m going to make sure he has to physically wake up in the morning and go through his rehab for another day, do all the things he has to do against one of the highest defenses, which dazzles almost every game. So we must do the right thing.
“Mariota has also performed well, so, like I said, we have a quarterback below center and we are excited to play against a really good football team.”
However, the Raiders (7-7) will be without three defensive starters in the defensive end Clelin Ferrell (shoulder) and linebackers Nick Kwiatkoski and Nicholas Morrow, who were both on the reserve / COVID-19 list this week and are on the defensive added Daryl Worley and security Erik Harris back to the list. Jim O’Neil, defensive back coach, will be unavailable due to concerns about COVID-19.
Rookie receiver Henry Ruggs III, however, came off the COVID-19 list, as did corner back Isaiah Johnson. Offensive coordinator Greg Olson is also expected to return after being absent last week due to virus issues. Additionally, the Raiders’ defense is expected to regain the services of security Johnathan Abram (concussion), cornerback Damon Arnette (concussion) and defensive tackle Maliek Collins, who just returned from the injured reserve.
“We will have to play our best game of the year to win it,” said Gruden.