The Oakland Raiders are heading into the 2014 season with high expectations after going just 4-12 last season and they have Matt Schaub coming in as the starter after drafting Derek Carr, but the rookie has a chance to compete for the job and he could win it with some strong play over the summer, while the Raiders still also have a chance at the Andre Johnson trade if the Houston Texans decide to pull the trigger this offseason.
The Raiders are coming into the 2014 season with pressure after going 4-12 in each of the past two years and jobs could be on the line for Reggie McKenzie and Dennis Allen without some improvements. According to ESPN writer Paul Gutierrez, Derek Carr has a chance to start, but he will have to blow the tops off of the coaching staff during training camp to get past Matt Schaub, who the team acquired from the Houston Texans during the offseason.
Schaub comes in after an up and down season in 2013 that saw him regress a but with the Texans after some strong years and now he is looking to bounce back with the Raiders. Schaub came into camp in shape and motivated after what happened last season and he could be the key for the Raiders as they try and a bounce back in the AFC West. This comes with the Denver Broncos as the dominant team in the division and while the Raiders may not have enough to take the West, they at least should be able to compete for one of the wild cards in the AFC.
Johnson could be an option, but trades do not usually happen this late in the offseason and the Texans likely want to see if Johnson will show up to training camp. The Raiders added James Jones in the offseason along with Maurice Jones-Drew and those two could be crucial if the offense wants to bounce back from last season. The team ranked 12th in rushing yards per game and part of that was due to Pryor and they are hoping Darren McFadden has a bounce back season as well.
Last season the Raiders ranked 25th in the league in passing yards per game with 208 while splitting time between Terrelle Pryor and Matt McGloin and now Pryor is gone and McGloin is coming in as one of the backups to Schaub. Pryor showed some flashes of being a solid starter last season, but the Raiders opted to trade him instead of McGloin, as they felt the former Penn State star was a better backup for Schaub than Pryor. The team did not want to put too much pressure on Carr and that is one reason why they kept McGloin, as he could be an insurance policy if Carr needs more development as a rookie.
McGloin had eight touchdowns and eight picks with 1547 yards passing and he won his first start against the Houston Texans before getting bounced back for Pryor. McGloin came in as an undrafted free agent and proved himself to be valuable and he stuck around while Matt Flynn and Tyler Wilson were put out to pasture by the Raiders.