With all the focus on the question of whether the teams that took quarterbacks in round one truly will keep the rookies as backups come Week One, the one guy most presume won’t be playing to start the season could be starting, sooner rather than later.
As Albert Breer of NFL Media recently explained in a video notebook for NFL Network, Raiders starter Matt Schaub could be supplanted in Oakland.
“There is now an internal belief he’ll be pushed by rookie Derek Carr, who has displayed the talent and intelligence early on to shed his red shirt and play right away,” Breer said.
While it wouldn’t be a shock in light of the fact that Schaub isn’t very, you know, good, a decision to bench Schaub after giving him $8 million fully guaranteed coming a year after giving Matt Flynn $6.5 million fully guaranteed before benching and cutting him won’t do much to help G.M. Reggie McKenzie remain employed.
Then again, the best way to keep the boss happy could be to play the rookie. On the first day of the 2014 draft, we heard owner Mark Davis wanted to take Carr with the fifth pick in round one.
Carr would likely have to perform very well -- or Schaub would have to perform very poorly -- to result in the rookie getting the nod as of Week One. But if/when (when) Schaub plays like he did last year in Houston and if/when (when) the Raiders stumble out of the gates amid a crippling schedule, it could be time for the Raiders to see whether Derek Carr will play better than his brother, whom Schaub supplanted seven years ago in Houston.