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Losing Derek Carr Would Be Death Sentence for Oakland Raiders

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Derek Carr of Oakland Raiders

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Let me preface this by saying that this is a worst-case scenario. There have been a lot of reports going around mentioning varying degrees of seriousness regarding Derek Carr’s hand injury, ranging from a “non-story” to possible surgery due to “numbness” in the ring finger of his throwing hand.

With that out of the way, let’s take a look at what it would mean for the Oakland Raiders if Carr really was forced to undergo surgery – which would mean it’s at least a significant injury.

Even if Carr was to undergo surgery, chances are he’d still be available for Week 1 when the Raiders take on the Cincinnati Bengals. However, if the injury really is that significant, chances are it would linger. Bending the finger the wrong way would likely cause even more damage, which could lead to long-term effects on Carr’s throwing hand.

You get the point.

Now the main reason for all of this is to emphasize the fact that the Raiders would be screwed without Carr under center in 2015. Although they aren’t exactly expected to contend for the AFC West crown this upcoming season, chances are they’re primed to earn a better record than their 3-13 finish in 2014.

However, without Carr, their prospects go from meh to dreadful real quick. The main reason? Oakland’s current backup quarterback is Christian Ponder. I don’t know if you’ve watched Minnesota Vikings games in the past few years, but he’s a horrible NFL quarterback. I’m still struggling to understand why the Raiders chose to sign him in the first place — another fabulous decision by GM Reggie McKenzie.

The Raiders would be better putting in Matt McGloin instead of Ponder, but for some reason the team seems to have zero confidence in the former undrafted free agent.

Ponder is a subpar passer with decent athleticism, and terrible decision making. Even though he has enough of an arm to occasionally make good throws, his accuracy wavers wildly, especially when throwing further down the field. Vikings fan routinely tried to justify that he made up for it with his ability to scramble and move the chains with his feet, but it certainly isn’t enough.

The worst part of Ponder is his knack for turning the ball over. Whether it’s throwing into coverage or taking poor care of the football when the pocket gets turbulent, the man simply can’t seem to keep the football in the offense’s possession.

Now I’ll admit I’m not completely sold on Carr as the future of the franchise. He’s a promising young passer who shined as a rookie, but he still needs to show improvement in accuracy and awareness before I give him my final stamp of approval. Despite all of that, he’s ten times the quarterback Ponder will ever be, and he’s not even close to reaching his full potential.

The Raiders already have a roster that’s a bit lacking in the talent department, and adding a putrid quarterback like Ponder to the mix would certainly be a death sentence.

Let’s hope Carr’s agent is being honest, and his client really is missing OTAs as more of a precaution than anything else.

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