The Oakland Raiders will enter the 2014 season with a fresh set of quarterback, hoping this roster turns out better than the last. Reggie McKenzie and Dennis Allen are testing every avenue possible in order to finally bring some stability to the position and begin developing a top level offense. After trades, drafting and free agent signings, is the 2014 roster the one that works out?
In 2013, the Raiders signed Matt Flynn, drafted rookies Matt McGloin and Tyler Wilson while retaining Terrelle Pryor. Only McGloin survived. Now, the Raiders have traded for Matt Schaub, drafted Derek Carr and retained McGloin. Same steps, different players. However, the Raiders are taking a much different approach this season than before. General manager Reggie McKenzie has avoided any talks of a potential quarterback battle and flat out names Schaub the starter, no questions asked.
However, one thing is for sure, McKenzie likes the potential of Carr and views him as the next great quarterback of Oakland.
"In evaluating him, we thought he could definitely throw the ball," McKenzie said, via the team website. "He was athletic. All the things that we were looking for in a quarterback, we felt like he had. He played different styles of offense. He played under center, and of course he played in the spread offense. Bottom line, he was an extremely smart football player, he knew how to read defenses. He was one of those guys that you knew he knew how to play the position. We had a chance to get a really good player, and we jumped at it."
The Raiders looked at multiple quarterbacks with the No. 5 overall draft pick. Many had projected the team to trade up for Johnny Manziel or Blake Bortles. They would have certainly been a splashy pick and potential starters baring any issues with Schaub. However, McKenzie denies there was ever any interest in trading around for either player. He wanted the draft picks and felt Carr was the better of the bunch.
"I wanted the picks. There were some teams calling and seeing if we wanted to move up, but I was OK with just sitting there and taking the best player," McKenzie said.
So for the time being, Schaub will be the 2014 starter for the Raiders as Carr and McGloin compete for a backup role. The Raiders will likely stick with three quarterbacks on the roster in hopes that either Carr or McGloin can develop into the star player the Raiders will need once Schaub is gone.
