Carrs’ Future in Question: Antonio Pierce’s Blunt Response Sparks Controversy About Derek Carr’s Role
The Las Vegas Raiders have been without a franchise quarterback since they let Derek Carr walk in 2022.
While he’s continued to be one of the more effective quarterbacks in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints, the Raiders have cycled through what feels like a dozen different players at the position and have yet to find an answer. An issue that may continue to plague them thanks to their Week 16 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, which saw them fall from the No. 1 spot in the draft order to No. 6.
The draft positioning of the Raiders has been one of the few things that fans have had to look forward to, but if there was a game that most had circled, it was the team’s Week 17 matchup against the Carr’s Saints. The Raiders are making the trip to the Big Easy on Sunday in a matchup that was supposed to pit Carr against his former squad. Another thing fans can’t look forward to.
Carr was ruled out with a hand injury earlier on Friday.
Before he was officially ruled out, Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce was asked about possibly facing Carr earlier on Friday and if it would motivate the team at all. A question that he brushed off reasonably quickly.
“Yeah, that’s not even the same team here,” Pierce said. “These guys are not even here, so to be honest, it hasn’t been talked about.”
While Pierce was on staff during Carr’s final season with the Raiders, he was still the linebackers coach, so it’s hard to imagine they got too close. However, it was a bit odd that he didn’t acknowledge what Carr meant to the team and franchise when fielding the question.
Regardless, with Carr out, the Raiders will likely be facing former Oklahoma and South Carolina quarterback, Spencer Rattler. The former five-star recruit has appeared in five games, starting four of them.
Across those five games, he has thrown for 859 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. While in most cases, NFL fans would salivate at the thought of playing against an inexperienced rookie quarterback, this matchup could again hurt the Raiders’ draft chances.
Something Pierce, who is coaching for his job, is not worried about.
