Derek Carr might be tired of rumors about his future with the Las Vegas Raiders, but his general manager didn't exactly seek to silence those rumors when addressing the Raiders' quarterback plans at the NFL combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday.
"Derek played at a high level last season," Mike Mayock told reporters, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. "I'm very happy with Derek. But as I've said before, we will evaluate every position on our roster, and if there's a chance to upgrade, we will look into that."
Mayock's remarks aren't dissimilar to those of other teams around the league, like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with impending free agent Jameis Winston, or the Chicago Bears with Mitchell Trubisky, who's been penciled in as a 2020 starter but could be facing added competition. The point, however, is that these are all teams unwilling to rule out alternatives at their most important position.
If Mayock says the Raiders won't turn down a "chance to upgrade" at QB, then the Raiders are in the market for a QB.
That's not to say Carr won't remain with the team as it relocates to Vegas. Coach Jon Gruden has publicly backed the veteran on multiple occasions, and as CBS Sports' Patrik Walker noted, Carr's career numbers confirm you could do a lot worse at QB. He also remains under contract through 2022.
The question, of course, is whether you -- or, the Raiders, rather -- could do better, and ahead of a 2020 free agency period that could feature an unprecedented number of veteran QBs, Mayock may very well have a handful of "upgrades" within reach. CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora already reported in December that there's been a "growing frustration" with Carr within the Raiders' building, and that Gruden has been preparing to dissect the 2020 QB class -- not only in free agency but in the draft -- for a possible successor.
