HENDERSON, Nev. – Mike Mayock, general manager of Las Vegas Raiders, gave strategist Derek Carr, the subject of so many off-season trading rumors, a resounding endorsement on Wednesday.
“I think Derek Carr had his best year yet under Jon Gruden,” Mayock said during a Zoom meeting with reporters, “I think he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, and we couldn’t be happier. are with him And I’ll tell you every year – we evaluate every position every year I have no idea who could call me [for a trade] or who might not call me. So you have to do the evaluations, both for your own players and every other player in the league. And you have to stack your boards and understand what league value is all over the league, and we do.
‘But if you ask me [specifically] about Derek, I think Jon and I would both stand shoulder to shoulder and bang on the table for Derek Carr. ‘
The Raiders have been linked with Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson, whose agent named Las Vegas as one of his four preferred destinations – along with New Orleans, Dallas, and Chicago – if the Seattle Seahawks chose to trade him.
Carr has now come from his third year in a row at Gruden. Last season, Carr had career highs in passing yards (4,103), passer rating (101.4) and Total QBR (71.0) with 27 touchdowns and 9 interceptions for a Raiders team that finished 8-8, an improvement of one game over of the 2019 season, but lost five of the last seven games and was only 2-6 in the new home ground of Allegiant Stadium. In his career, Carr, who signed a $ 125 million five-year extension in June 2017, has a career record of 47-63, with just one season winning.
Mayock, meanwhile, wasn’t quite as effusive in his praise when it came to Trent Brown’s right tackle, who signed a then-record-breaking four-year, $ 66 million free-agent contract for an offensive lineman in 2019.
Brown has played more than 10 snaps in just 14 of the 32 games with the Raiders.
“As for Trent, the jury is still out,” Mayock said. “He’s under contract and, again, we believe in that player’s talent. There’s nothing better than tackling Trent Brown the right way and protecting Derek Carr next year, week 1. But the judges are out, and we are still out. have to make some decisions about our selection in general. “
Brown has a salary cap of $ 14 million for 2021, with no dead money.
“The whole thing for Trent is that when he’s healthy, in shape and ready to go, he’s just as dominant as any tackle in football, and he proved it early on in the 2019 season,” said Mayock. Since then it has been like a roller coaster. What he really needs to do, I think most of all, is get himself in the best shape of his life and get ready to prove he’s a dominant tackle in the National Football League, and that’s basically all it takes – if Trent in form and remains committed, there is no better talent. “
Meanwhile, Mayock would not confirm or deny a report from NFL reporter Josina Anderson that judge Gabe Jackson had been notified of his release.