It’s a theory that hovered around the draft four years ago and The MMQB’s Albert Breer breathed new life into the discussion on Thursday.
It was no secret that Raiders owner Mark Davis coveted Derek Carr leading up to the 2014 draft and it’s possible there happened to be Jon Gruden implications to the owner’s infatuation.
I heard earlier today that Raiders owner Mark Davis wants QB Derek Carr. Stay tuned.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) May 9, 2014
A handful of reports (including the 2014 tweet above) indicated that Davis, at the time, lobbied to draft Carr with the Raiders 5th-overall pick.
Ultimately general manager Reggie McKenzie, who was operating with more authority in those days, drafted Mack and Carr fell to the Raiders in the second round.
But many, including Breer, have speculated that Davis was enamoured with Carr in large part because he believed Carr could be the quarterback to draw Jon Gruden back to the Raiders.
Gruden was particularly impressed with Carr leading up to the 2014 draft and Davis would have been as aware as anyone.
What doesn’t hold water is the theory that Davis held on to any particular “plan” to entice Gruden because he did make a considerable (and unnecessary) commitment to Jack Del Rio – a commitment that JDR has presently accepted to his bank account.
Whatever the case, Carr was undoubtedly a factor in bringing Gruden back to Oakland – one that Davis may have considered quite a few years in advance.
twitter: @raidersbeat
JDR and Gru-Dog have the same agent. Mr. Davis liked and still likes JDR and that money does not effect the salary cap. I summit that it was a grand and appropriate offer to JDR to ease the pain of losing his dream job. Gru-Dog will also get a huge package. The big winner (aside from the Raiders) is obviously their agent 🙂