Raiders Have Three Ways to Find Super Bowl QB

After parting ways with Derek Carr following nine seasons, the Las Vegas Raiders are searching for a new quarterback, a guy they hope will lead them back to the Super Bowl someday.

General Manager Dave Ziegler and Coach Josh McDaniels have three ways of finding the man they want—through free agency, trade with another team, or in the National Football League Draft.

“I think there’s always urgency at that position,” Ziegler said recently at the NFL Combine. “You know, look, the goal for us eventually is to have somebody that's going to be here for a long time. I think that you know, you see the teams that are having success right now in our league, I would say, in our conference. Specifically, in our division, you know, they're young players that were drafted by their clubs, and they’re being developed there under the same continuity.

“We’re going to do everything we can do to evaluate every player at that position, both in the draft and free agency, and try to do what we can do to improve the room. I mean, there’s certainly going to be a number of players added at that position.”

Four quarterbacks have led the Silver and Black to the five Super Bowls they have played during the 63-year history, and they’ve used every one of those methods to find the quarterback they needed to get the job done.

Daryle Lamonica was the first to lead the Raiders to the Promised Land after Managing General Partner Al Davis traded with the Buffalo Bills in 1967 to get the former Notre Dame All-American known as “The Mad Bomber” because of his powerful right arm that fits right into the “Vertical Passing Game,” as Davis described it

Said Davis: “They say you have to take what the defense gives you, but with Lamonica, we’re going to take what we want.”

All Lamonica did in that first season was lead the Raiders to 13-1 record and a 40-7 victory over the Houston Oilers in the American Football League Championship Game before they lost to the Green Bay Packers, 33-14, in Super Bowl II at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

Lamonica posted an incredible 62-16-6 record in his eight seasons with the Raiders, was the AFL’s Most Valuable Player in 1967 and 1969, and led Oakland to four straight AFL West championships.

In addition, Lamonica ranks fourth on the Raiders' all-time passing list with 16,555 passing yards and 148 touchdowns, third all-time in scoring passes in franchise history, and rushed for 307 yards and six scores.

Next came Kenny “Snake” Stabler, who was selected by the Raiders in the second round (No. 52 overall) of the 1968 NFL Draft out of Alabama after making first-team All-American and leading the Crimson Tide to a 34-7 rout to Nebraska in the Sugar Bowl.

Stabler had to wait for his time behind Lamonica, but he learned all he could on the sidelines from legendary quarterback George Blanda, who played with the Raiders until he was 48 years old.

When Stabler’s time came, he was ready and led the Raiders to six straight AFC West titles. After several agonizing post-season defeats, Oakland downed the Pittsburgh Steelers, 24-7, in the 1976 AFC Championship Game and upset the favored Minnesota Vikings, 32-14, in Super Bowl XI.

“Kenny Stabler was the leader of the Raiders, he ran the offense, and he called his own plays, but that doesn’t tell the whole story,” wide receiver Cliff Branch said. “Coach John Madden would put the offensive game plan in on Wednesday, Kenny would learn it inside and out, and the offense would execute it against our second team defense … but that didn’t mean anything on game day.

“Snake was prepared for what the defense was supposed to do and what they might do if they made changes to try to confuse us. Sometimes, he would just say, ‘Check with me on the ball.’ We would break the huddle, he would come to the line of scrimmage, and he would call a running play or a pass, depending on how the defense was lined up. He seemed to be able to tell what they were going to do, even before the ball was snapped.

“Snake was the greatest Raider ever.”

Stabler had a 69-26-1 record with the Raiders, is second on the franchise’s all-time passing list with 19,078 yards and 150 touchdowns while being selected All-Pro twice and to the Pro Bowl four times. In addition, he was the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 1974 and is a member of the NFL’s 1970s All-Decade Team.

Next for the Raiders came Jim Plunkett, the 1970 Heisman Trophy winner at Stanford before being selected with the first pick of the NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, where he struggled with a mediocre team before going to the San Francisco 49ers in 1976.

When the 49ers released him, Al Davis signed Plunkett as a free agent and told him to heal himself physically and mentally because the Raiders had Stabler at quarterback.

That paid off in 1980 and 1983 when Plunkett was not the starting quarterback at the start of either season. However, he still led the Raiders to a 27-10 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XV by throwing three touchdown passes and a 38-9 rout of the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII.

“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, but he looked bad, even ugly out there sometimes. But he was so tough and he could make plays, big plays. He had the will to win.”

Plunkett had a 38-19 record as a starter and ranks fifth on the Raiders’ all-time passing list with 12,655 yards and 80 touchdowns while also rushing for 354 yards and four scores. He was NFL Comeback Player of the Year and 1980 and the Most Valuable Player in the Super Bowl XV.

Rich Gannon was the last quarterback to take the Raiders to the Super Bowl, but you can’t blame the 48-21 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in SB XXXVII on him, even though he threw five interceptions and was sacked five times.

The 2002 Raiders were on a four-game winning streak, including playoff victories of 30-10 over the New York Jets and 41-14 over the Tennessee Titans, as Gannon passed for 569 yards and five touchdowns in addition to running for another score in those games.

However, All-Pro center Barret Robbins, who probably was the Raiders’ best player, suffered from physical and mental problems and disappeared from the team’s hotel in San Diego a few days before the game and headed to San Diego.

The Raiders had beaten the Buccaneers, 45-0, in their previous meeting two years earlier when Robbins dominated the middle of the Tampa Bay line, but this time they had no chance without their best player, who did not play.

Gannon had a 45-29 record in six seasons with the Raiders and is third on the franchise’s all-time passing list with 2,448 yards and 114 touchdowns, but he probably is the least remembered because of that Super Bowl debacle.

The Raiders’ next Super Bowl quarterback, whoever he might be, deserves better.

The 2023 NFL Draft will go from April 27-29 and be held at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo. The NFL Scouting Combine is Feb. 28-March 6, 2023, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. The club's deadline to designate Franchise or Transition Players is March 7, 2023, before 4 p.m. EST.

March 13-15 is the free agent negotiation period. Starting at 12 p.m. EDT on March 13 and ending at 3:59:59 p.m. EDT on March 15, clubs are permitted to contact and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who will become Unrestricted Free Agents upon the expiration of their 2022 Player Contracts at 4 p.m. EDT on March 15.

The 2023 NFL Year and Free Agency period begins at 4 p.m. EDT on March 15. The Raiders are expected to be significant players in the free-agent market this season.

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