Social media has changed the way the world consumes sports. In some ways the change has been for the better. Fans can get more information about teams and their favorite players. Players can engage with fans and build their brands better than ever. But sometimes social media gives glimpses into players that aren’t particularly beneficial to the player or the team.
That was the case this week when two Raiders rookies “liked” an altered social media image of Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson in a Raiders uniform. Trade rumors have been swirling around Watson for weeks, so it’s hard not to make assumptions about why Henry Ruggs III and Damon Arnette would “like” a different quarterback in a Raiders uniform.
Not only were the “likes” not the best look for Arnette and Ruggs, but it’s noteworthy that neither rookie particularly exceeded expectations this year. Ruggs had 452 receiving yards this year and Arnette earned the second-worst PFF coverage grade among the eight cornerbacks on the Raiders roster. It’s safe to assume that the Raiders’ coaching staff would prefer to see both players focused on improving their own play rather than fantasizing about which quarterbacks would look good in a Raiders uniform next year – especially when the organization appears to be locked in on Derek Carr as it’s quarterback for the foreseeable future.
If anything, this is the attitude (below from J.J. Watt) that more young players should have with their quarterback considering the kind of year Carr had in 2020.
Carr wasn’t perfect, but he played like a top 10 quarterback in the league my almost any metric.
Since the Khalil Mack trade, the Raiders approach to rebuilding has been clear. They’ve had five first-round picks over the last two years and to this point the results have been suspect… at best. Some of the responsibility rests squarely on the coaching staff, but rookie deals don’t last forever and the 2019 rookie class is already halfway through their contracts.
twitter: @raidersbeat
Draft GM/Coach didn’t interview Arnott very well, loose the KC hair and the fly gold chain and keep yo head out of the tackle – don’t seem too bright.
If anyone should say sorry, it should be Gruden to Carr and Carr to the fans!!! That’s who should say sorry for wasted years!!!!
The raiders have know room for error but plenty of time to get it right , they gotta hit a grand slam on D coordinator, a package if they go for Watson, the draft and a helpful real O coordinator, not Olson a bonified yes man clipboard holder. Time to get this ship right NO EXCUSES, everybody had enough time and experience. Get it done. Gruden humble yourself, catch up with today’s NFL, I believe you can .
Simple, trade Carr for two 2nd round draft picks. Sign Veteran QB available, Rodgers might be and mentor new drafted QB. Draft majority Defensive linemen with LBs. Consider replacing Offensive coordinat2xcause Olson has two failed 2x- very vanilla offense. Replace Gruden for 2nd guessing 2020 game plane losses while falling in love with veterans who cannot play but want to wear the Black & Silver and not get dirty. Go LV Raiders!! SGD
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Trade both #11 too fragile & needs to run better routes,#20 can’t cover his own shadow! Honestly I cringed when I heard their names on draft day! Punks ! At least Abram loves to be a RAIDER & PLAYS WITH HEART!
NO Thanks!
On another note, Kyle Brandt is a Raider hating punk!
i said in a post a while draft 1 2 3 draft picks 4th o line guard an yes get a good guard in free agent an carr is a good qb and as far as im concered raiders could trade ruggs an arnette for a great defence end or tackel dont need either one of them one couldnt catch a cold an the other is hurt or cant learn anything
Total clown show by two guys who frankly sucked this year. An especially dumb move by Ruggs who needs to earn his QBs trust after having some particularly bad plays this past season. And anyone who knows football history knows that no Carr will ever be playing for Houston again. Even without that issue, with the most recent Raider draft picks mostly sucking, there is no way any coherent GM would trade away even more picks for a QB. Watson would be left with even less talent than the Texans.
Change in entire coaching staff and update approach to play calling! Young aggressive play caller(OC)! Watson would be upgrade, regardless of who likes it or not! DC should be aggressive and also up to date with today’s offenses! Get a DC on board now! Organization is 10+ yrs late with that fix! Sad to say , maybe Gruden back to Pressbox! Friends dont always equate to Wins! New flavor is needed! Dont see team winning AFC WEST as long as Mahommes and now Herbert are in their prime!!
Here’s the deal after reading your article…this type of thing just bothers me…this hypocrisy from these players and there’s no wonder former players complain about these idiots. You haven’t played well all year and are on the same team (under the same circumstances) as your QB, who played well, but you didn’t, then basically say in this case you want a new QB. First you just got to the league show some professionalism. There are Raiders who want CD Lamb or Justin Jefferson or rather given up that puck to acquire Stefon Diggs. Who in the hell drafts a 4.5 corner. I don’t believe the GM who said this dude was clocked faster than that. There’s plenty of other corners who their teammates would rather have. Finally Gruden talks about leadership in the tight end room with signing Jason Witten, hogwash. The Raider defense is devoid of leadership especially after he jettisoned Khalil Mack. They need to sign & draft better players and stop it with this character crap because this is proof that’s just not true.