The Broncos shook up the AFC West when they traded for quarterback Russell Wilson, helping set up what should be one of the most competitive divisions in years.
For Derek Carr — who’s now the longest-tenured quarterback in the AFC, let alone the AFC West — the prospect of having so many potential good battles in a season is exciting.
“Yeah, it’s unbelievable,” Carr said at his Thursday press conference after signing a contract extension that potentially runs through 2025. “Pat [Mahomes] is great. Justin [Herbert], he’s just starting and he’s going to be a great player for a long time. Russell [Wilson] has been great. It’s exciting to go and compete against these guys. We’ve all had battles, we’ve all kind of had shootouts, so to speak, against each other. They’ve won some and we’ve won some. So, it’s going to be tight. It’s going to be hard. And it’s going to come down to who does everything right, who does all the little things right, who’s closer together, who’s tighter of a unit, and things like that.
“But I think for me, the exciting part for me is that you get to compete. Growing up, like I watch these guys [his sons] compete against each other in our house every day, and they’re going at it. And you want to compete against guys that are at the top of their game, so for me, it’s exciting. For the defensive coordinators, they’re probably like, ‘Oh my gosh. Every week there’s no breaks.’ But I think that that’s how it should be.”
The Raiders finished last season 3-3 in the division, losing both contests to the Chiefs, beating the Broncos twice, and splitting the season series against the Chargers. The victory over Los Angeles in Week 18 sent Las Vegas to the postseason.
The bar has been raised within the Raiders franchise with Josh McDaniels as head coach and Dave Ziegler as General Manager along with the splash moves the team’s made. But with six games against what’s at least perceived now as strong competition, it’s going to be tough for any AFC West team to make it to this year’s playoffs.