The Oakland Raiders are coming into the 2015 season looking for a major improvement and quarterback Derek Carr is part of that and in OTAs he has been limited with a hand injury but has resumed throwing and this comes as Latavius Murray,. Trent Richardson and Roy Helu are battling for playing time, while Clive Walford is trying to push himself into the starting lineup with Amari Cooper.
The Raiders have a new coach and a new mindset with Jack Del Rio coming in and some of the young players will get the chance to contribute. Cooper is a sure thing in the starting lineup after being taken fourth overall, while players like Clive Walford and Andre Debose will try and prove themselves in summer workouts. According to CSN Bay Area, Carr has been able to resume throwing during OTAs, bit he is only working on the side and not in main drills.
According to Bill Williamson at ESPN, Carr did not participate in individual drills and he was working while throwing "short balls" in practice. Carr was held out for the "longer passing drills" and the team is hoping that he can be ready to go in July for training camp. There were reports that Carr might need surgery, but his agent came out to refute that news. Carr had a solid rookie season and now he is hoping to get a full offseason under his belt as the team learns a new offense.
Williamson writes that the Raiders want Carr to get the "chemistry" right with players like Cooper, Walford and Richardson early on, which could be big for his development this season. Richardson comes in as a free agent and he is pushing to start over Latavius Murray and Roy Helu. Murray showed some flashes last season and he could have the edge after Richardson had two tough years in Indianapolis with the Colts.
The Raiders let Darren McFadden walk in free agency and they feel that a combination of Murray and Richardson can replace him. Murray comes in after rushing for 424 yards and two touchdowns last season and that came after he missed his rookie season with an injury. Williamson writes that he thinks that Murray has an edge over Richardson, as he is younger and Richardson has to prove he can still be a "starting running back in the NFL."
Cooper comes in as a star already and he is penciled into the starting lineup for the Raiders. Cooper was taken fourth overall in of the draft and he comes in after having a monster season for the Crimson Tide. Cooper had 124 catches for 1727 yards and 16 touchdowns last season and he is already the best receiver on the Raiders' roster.
The team has high hopes for Walford, as NFL.com writes that he could end up pushing Mychal Rivera for playing time if he shows progress through the summer. Rivera showed potential last season and likely will be the starter, but he is more of a catch-only tight end, while Walford has above average blocking skills. The team may employ both tight ends in certain sets for Carr and they could end up being good weapons for him on offense.
