Josh McDaniels, the Las Vegas Raiders’ first-year coach, announced Wednesday that he will bench Derek Carr, the team’s quarterback since 2014. Following the shocking decision, CBS Sports HQ’s Brady Quinn opened up about the complexities of McDaniels’ offense and how that is affecting Carr’s struggles this season.
Quinn spent seven seasons in the NFL and got the experience of rostering under McDaniels when he was traded to the Broncos in 2010. Quinn didn’t play a game with them, but he did bring up an example for one of his former teammates.
Kyle Orton – who started his NFL career with the Chicago Bears in 2005 – was traded to the Broncos in 2009 and gave the nascent quarterback job its first season in Denver. Orton led the team to a 6-0 start that season, but things went downhill from there. The Broncos lost eight of their next 10 games after their bye week, and Orton finished the season with 21 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions with an 86.8 QB rating in 16 games, 15 of them as a starter.
“When I got there, it was Josh McDaniels’ second year. I remember talking to Kyle Orton about what he went through in 2009 and how big the transition was for him,” Quinn said on the Pick Six NFL Podcast. “He had the most interceptions of his career that year with Denver.”
Quinn, who called McDaniels “one of the brightest minds in the NFL,” pointed out that Orton’s struggles also likely had to do with adjusting to a new staff and system. Orton led the team to a 1-4 start the following season, opening the door for Tim Tebow to replace him in Week 5.
“But other than that, it’s a system that’s very quarterback-friendly once you get the hang of it,” Quinn said. “It’s just very difficult to do that in a year.”
Quinn then said there’s also a lot to learn when it comes to wide receivers, such as: B. Route adjustments and “what is being asked of you to move within this offense”. He brought up Davante Adams, who joined the Raiders just this season, to illustrate the point. This year Adams has caught 88 passes for 1,290 yards and 12 touchdowns at the highest league level. However, in his last three games, he has caught just 9 of 25 goals for 114 yards and zero touchdowns. When it comes to the fourth quarter of this season, Carr is 16 of 51 targeting Adams.
Adams addressed the situation this week, saying Carr is his good friend but also that the Raiders need to stay focused and try to end the season strong.
Quinn said how the Raiders are progressing at quarterback will all depend on what McDaniels and Raiders general manager Dave Ziegler is looking for at the position. He added that Carr would likely be one of the most sought-after quarterbacks if the Raiders decided to let him go, “at least from a trade standpoint.”