For as much as the culture in the Raiders locker room flourished in Jack Del Rio’s first two years with the team, this year’s team seemed to achieve a full 180-degree turn in a matter of months.
The unrest was all over the faces of players and coaches. You could see it during games as high definition cameras scrolled the sidelines and hear it after games in interviews.
Ground zero of the dysfunction seemed to be located among the Raiders offensive unit and a report on Wednesday offered another detail to just how uncomfortable things seemed to have gotten during the season.
According to The Athletic’s Vic Tafur, things soured between Michael Crabtree and Derek Carr at some point to during the season to the point that the two weren’t talking to each other.
“Crabtree and Carr were extremely close the receiver’s first two years on the Raiders, and last year things did cool off a little. There was even a point last season where they were not talking to each other. But that was probably due to the overall dumpster fire that was the Raiders’ 6-10 season, and the two seem on the same page now.”
It’s worth noting that Crabtree and Carr are two of the most competitive players on the roster and losing games added a strain to the Raiders locker room that hadn’t been felt since Carr’s rookie season. But expectations were much lower in 2014 and this was the first real test of the locker room since Del Rio arrived in Oakland.
The good news is it sounds like Jon Gruden has eased some of the tension inside the Raiders locker room – much of which formed around a lack of trust between players and the former coaching staff.
If Crabtree can return to playing the way he did in his first two seasons with the Raiders, his $7.5 million salary will feel like a bargain – because like it or not, he’s been Carr’s most reliable target over the past three years.
twitter: @raidersbeat
I’ve been saying this for quite awhile. Best receiver on the team! Carr and Crabtree were magical their first two years! This is what losing does when you have such high expectations. Under Gruden we will not be continually out coached anymore. He will put Carr and Crab in positions to WIN. And the Raiders will soar!!
RAIDERS!!!!!!!!!!
Yea I agree, I know players start a decline but crabs was still on incline and to blame him when entire team looked sloppy n awful thanks to bible boy Todd downing and his version of Christian conservative offense… Carr won’t have a chastity belt this year and same for WR. Things got too political and unfortunately helped ruin a season.