Jon Gruden called out his quarterback Derek Carr on Wednesday for passing up throws during the Oakland Raiders’ Monday night loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
Speaking with reporters, Gruden said Carr had Amari Cooper open deep a few times and didn’t pass it to him.
Gruden: “Cooper was open deep, he was open a couple times. For whatever reason, we didn’t go there.”
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) September 12, 2018
Cooper had just one catch for nine yards in the game — far below what the former No. 4 pick is capable of. Carr threw for 303 yards but did not have a touchdown pass and was intercepted three times.
Lest you think this is Gruden picking on Carr, keep in mind that former Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio made the exact same observation about Carr last season.
Del Rio said Carr wasn’t under duress yesterday and saw he had more time “to take more shots downfield that we had designed.”
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) October 30, 2017
Carr had a strong rookie season in 2014 and followed that up with even more impressive seasons in 2015 and 2016. He looked like he was well on his way to becoming a franchise quarterback. However, last year he suffered a serious back injury that derailed his play. Some thought he would be improved if healthy this season, but maybe there was more to his struggles than injury.
The observation from Gruden makes one wonder whether the Raiders will consider moving on from Carr if he doesn’t show improvement, which certainly seems like a possibility.
H/T Rotoworld
