There’s only one rookie quarterback scheduled to start Week 1 this season, and it’s not Johnny Manziel, Blake Bortles, Teddy Bridgewater or even A.J. McCarron. It’s Derek Carr, second-round pick out of Fresno State by the Oakland Raiders:
Breaking: Raiders players have been informed that the team is making the switch at QB and starting Derek Carr over Matt Schaub
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) September 1, 2014
This is a story for a few reasons: It means that Matt Schaub’s career as an NFL starter appears to be over; it means that the Raiders are gambling a bit by putting their first-year QB directly into the fire and hoping he doesn’t get burned; and it’s a bit of karmic justice for the Carr family — Derek’s older brother David was the first-overall pick in 2002 and started five years for the Texans, until he was replaced by Schaub and released. David was a career back-up after that.
Schaub replaces Carr, Carr replaces Schaub. The circle of life is complete.
Of course, Derek is a different person than his older brother — but he’ll always be compared to him, which is both good and bad. It’s good because David was a star at Fresno State and had the talent to be an NFL starter; it’s bad because he was a bust, and as one NFL executive put it, David’s biggest problem “is his genetics.” Never mind that David played for a horrendous Texans team and was sacked 249 times in five years — he still blew it, as far as the NFL is concerned.
There’s an excellent article on ESPN about how Derek has to both stay loyal and differentiate himself from his brother’s path, while David is doing everything he can to help Derek succeed. It’s worth your time.
Anyway, the Raiders will still be terrible, but at least they’ll be more fun to watch, if only to see if both Carr brothers will have their careers ruined by the misfortune of playing for crappy teams.
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