James Jones knows what it is like to work with a great quarterback. The wide receiver benefitted from the arm of Aaron Rodgers while with the Green Bay Packers. That certainly helped him develop quickly into a reliable wide receiver. Now with the Oakland Raiders, Jones is in a much different situation. Rookie Derek Carr will now be starting Week 1 in place of the injured Matt Schaub, but Jones believes it will not be an issue as the rookie reminds him of his former teammate.
Carr is getting thrown right into the fire, but Jones likes what he sees from the rookie quarterback. According to the wide receiver, he believes Carr could become the next Rodgers as the two quarterbacks have a lot of similarities.
"He's really calm, really cool in the pocket," Jones said, via the San Francisco Chronicle. "He acts like he's been there before. I've been calling him mini A-Rod since he got here."
However, Carr does not have the benefit of slow development like Rodgers did. He began his career by sitting behind Brett Favre for several seasons learning the ins and outs of being a franchise quarterback. Carr does not have that luxury any more. The rookie was supposed to take the path of Rodgers. The Raiders brought in Schaub as a stop-gap quarterback in order to let Carr take his time becoming a professional quarterback. However, elbow tendinitis, forcing the rookie into the spotlight for week on. Several Raiders players are getting behind Carr and supporting his potential with the team.
"He's not your typical rookie," center Stefen Wisniewski said. "He's got an NFL quarterback older brother that's been teaching him for years. He understands defenses at a very advanced level more than most rookies would. I think Derek gets way more prepared than most rookies would be."
Carr certainly has a lot of potential to become a great quarterback, but he is going to have to work for it given the offensive pieces surrounding him. The rookie has two aging running backs in Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew and no true No. 1 wide receiver. Alongside Jones will likely be Rod Streater and then the door is wide open. Andre Holmes and Denarius Moore will see playing time after Greg Little and Juron Criner were released. Carr might be a young Rodgers, but he has a ways to go before he fully develops into what the Raiders need.
