Where Does Carr Rank Among Best Raiders QBs?

Derek Carr of the Las Vegas Raiders has been benched for the last two games of the regular season, and all indications are that he won’t be back after being the Silver and Black’s starting quarterback throughout his nine-year career.

Carr, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, leads the Raiders in all career passing categories, but where does he rank among the best quarterbacks who have played for the Raiders?

Hall of Fame quarterback Kenny “Snake” Stabler is generally rated as the best to ever call signals for the Raiders, even though Carr broke all of his records. Stabler led the Oakland Raiders to a 69-26-1 record in 10 seasons, including a 32-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena to cap the 1976 season.

Stabler completed 1,486-of-2,481 passes (59.9 percent) for 19,078 yards and 150 touchdowns with 143 interceptions in his career while leading the Raiders to six consecutive appearances in the NFL playoffs.

However, the Raiders kept losing in the playoffs until 1976, and Snake took his share of the blame.

“We developed the tag of a team that couldn’t win the big one,” said Stabler, who passed away in 2015 at 69. “And I guess we couldn’t. But we knew we were good enough and that one year we were going to get to the Super Bowl—and win. We had that tag around our necks and had to get rid of it.

“I was the quarterback and a team leader, so I knew I had to do better—all of us did—and we finally did that in 1976.”

After a falling out with Managing General Partner Al Davis, Stabler played two seasons with the Houston Oilers and three with the New Orleans Saints to finish his career.

Carr has broken all of Snake’s records, completing 3,201-of-of of 4,958 passes (64.6 percent) for 3,522 yards and 217 touchdowns and 99 interceptions. However, the Raiders have compiled a 63-79 record with Carr at quarterback and reached the playoffs only in 2016 and last season.

However, you can’t compare his supporting cast to Stabler’s, as those Raiders had the greatest offensive line of all time, including Hall of Famers Jim Otto, Art Shell, and Gene Upshaw, in addition to a receiving corps that included three more Hall of Famers—Fred Biletnikoff, Cliff Branch, and tight end Dave Casper.

Carr’s huge three-year contract, which has a no-trade clause, his sub-par play in recent games, and the struggles of the Raiders (6-9) for much of this season have led to the current situation.

No. 3 on the Raiders’ all-time passing list is Rich Gannon, who came to the Raiders as a journeyman quarterback in 1999 at age 34 and enjoyed the best five seasons of his 18-year NFL career.

Gannon completed 1,533-of-2,448 passes (62.6 percent) for 17,585 yards and 114 touchdowns with 50 interceptions with the Raiders, posting a 45-29 record and leading them to Super Bowl XXXVII at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, where the Tampa Buccaneers routed them 48-21, to cap the 2002 season.

“In 1999, I was really a journeyman quarterback,” said Gannon, who was the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 2002 in addition to making All-Pro twice and the Pro Bowl four times, all with the Raiders.

“I had played in the league for 11 or 12 years and never really felt I was given an opportunity or chance to be an everyday player. In 1999, the Oakland Raiders and Mr. (Al) Davis gave me that opportunity to be an everyday starter. I tried to make the most of that opportunity.”

Another player who credits Davis is Daryle Lamonica, who is No. 4 on the Raiders’ all-time passing list.

Known as “The Mad Bomber,” Lamonica came to the Raiders in a trade with the Buffalo Bills in 1967, when he led them to a 13-1 record and Super Bowl II, which resulted in a 33-14 loss to the Green Bay Packers at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

“Our long passing game on the Raiders came from Al Davis,” said Lamonica, who passed away earlier this year at 80. “Al convinced me that the vertical game would work. He wanted me to throw the ball downfield. It was an exciting time. We were innovative in the AFL. We brought the passing game more into play than the NFL did. AFL fans wanted to see the ball in the air.”

Lamonica completed 1,138-of-2,248 passes (50.6 percent) for 16,655 yards and 148 touchdowns with 115 interceptions in eight seasons with the Silver and Black, compiling an incredible 62-16-6- record. He was the AFL’s Most Valuable Player in 1967 and 1969, earned two All-Pro honors twice after the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, and was selected to an AFL or NFL All-Star team five times.

This brings us to Jim Plunkett, the only one of the five to lead the Raiders to two Super Bowl titles.

Plunkett, the 1970 Heisman Trophy winner at Stanford, came to the Raiders after being beaten up in five seasons with the New England Patriots, who made him the No. 1 selection in the NFL Draft.

In seven seasons with the Raiders, Plunkett was not always a starter, and he completed 960-of-11,707 passes (56.2 percent) for 1,707 yards and 80 touchdowns with 81 interceptions while compiling a 38-19 record as a starter.

However, Plunkett quarterbacked the Raiders to a 27-10 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XV at the New Orleans Superdome, when he was selected the game’s Most Valuable Player, and also to a 38-9 rout of the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Fla.

“Jim Plunkett had the biggest heart, the most courage of anybody I ever played with,” Raiders tight end Raymond Chester said. “He had a great throwing arm … and he was so tough and he could make plays, big plays. He had the will to win.”

It’s difficult to say exactly where Carr ranks on this list, but should they part ways with him, will they be able to bring in a quarterback who is as good or better next season?

Since at least some of this has to do with Carr’s huge salary, that is the million-dollar question.

The Raiders' game against the San Francisco 49ers is Sunday, New Year's Day, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and kicks off at 4:05 p.m. EST/1:05 p.m. PST. It can be seen on FOX.

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