Raiders coach Dennis Allen raved about quarterback Matt Schaub this week and his comments seemed to slow any immediate rise to the starting lineup for second-round pick Derek Carr.
They didn’t stop Carr from rising at all, however. Allen said that Carr will open training camp as the No. 2 quarterback ahead of Matt McGloin and that the team wants to speed up the NFL immersion of a player who has been better than the team expected this spring.
“We’re trying to expedite his progression,” Allen said, via CSNBayArea.com. “I like a lot of the things that I’ve seen out of Derek. He’s still got a long way to go, but I like the direction that he’s headed.”
If Carr handles the expedited progression (and defenses trying to hit him) well this summer and Schaub fails to impress, there may be a cause for the Raiders to rethink their decision about a starting quarterback for 2014. Even if it doesn’t, it seems the Raiders feel optimistic that they’ve landed a future starter at quarterback.