Funviralpark I’ve seen a lot of disagreement over Derek Carr’s bench hinting at the possible end of his Raiders career.
Their range…he could be a top 10 QB and has been held back by the Raiders’ defense his entire career.
There’s probably a little bit of truth in all of that. One of the first things that popped into my mind about him is that he’s been a good quarterback for almost his decade on bad teams. In some ways, it reminds me of Matthew Stafford’s tenure with the Lions. Could Kerr leave the Raiders and follow in Stafford’s footsteps?
Now consider cases for and against.
Case
The basis for this comparison is based on the striking similarities between Stafford’s Lions days and Kerr’s Raiders days.
Both are franchise leaders
Both are the all-time pass leaders of their respective franchises. Stafford is the Lions’ all-time touchdown pass leader, among nearly every other category, and the same goes for Kerr for the Raiders.
0 wins in playoffs/division wins
Despite racking up numbers for the team for nearly a decade, he’s never won a playoff game or won a division title with his former team. Stafford went 0-3 in the postseason with Detroit, but Detroit always trailed Aaron his Rodgers and Packers.
Kerr was 0-1 in the playoffs against Las Vegas and had to compete with the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes in the AFC West.
Worst defense in the NFL
The Lions and Raiders have had two of the worst defenses in the league with these quarterbacks. Detroit recorded his second-worst scoring defense at Stafford from 2009 to his 2020. The Raiders have the worst scoring defense in the NFL since Kerr was drafted in his 2014 season. In fact, Kerr is his least supported QB in NFL history in terms of scoring defense. The Raiders allowed his 26.1 PPG in his start. This is the worst of all starting QBs (minimum 100 starts).
They’re also set to extend one of my favorite trends in sports this year: 2022 will see them in the bottom half of the league in scoring ERA, the longest record of its kind since the NFL in 1970. The Raiders will be ranked for the 20th straight year.AFL Merger.
Most Losses in the NFL
A bad defense does this to you. Kerr has the most losses of any QB since joining the league. Stafford had his second-most losses among QBs in his Lions career (2009-20).
Both led the NFL in fourth-quarter comebacks
Stafford and Kerr are always well-suited for thrilling comebacks thanks to productive careers coupled with defenses that rarely allow them to take the lead. Leading the NFL, Kerr topped the league in that category with the Raiders.
case against
Stafford is a better QB than Kerr overall
Stafford was the 2009 No. 1 overall pick and Kerr was the 2014 second-round pick. ) in 2021. I doubt Carr has a price tag anywhere near that.
League coaches and executives would agree that Stafford is better than Kerr, but not by much.
Stafford was ranked slightly ahead of Kerr in both the 2021 and 2022 QB Tiers by Mike Sand of The Athletic. Tiers are polled by GMs, coaches and executives across the league.
Stafford was also ranked No. 6 in both ESPN Jeremy Fowler’s Top 10 QB rankings for 2021 and 2022, based on a survey of more than 50 league executives, coaches and scouts. Kerr did well in both years, but failed to make the top 10.
The numbers will also match. Kerr has never topped his 10th place in total QBR on ESPN in his nine seasons with the Raiders. The average ranking is 19th. Stafford’s average QBR rank with the Lions was his 15th and top eight in three of his last five seasons with Detroit.
This offseason has proven that following Stafford’s blueprint isn’t easy
After Tom Brady won the Super Bowl in 2020 and Matthew Stafford won in 2021, getting a veteran quarterback was a hot new blueprint this offseason.Russell Wilson, Performances from Matt Ryan, Carson Wentz and Baker Mayfield proved that it won’t be so easy if you act to repeat it, teams invest heavily in guys like Kerr this offseason You may not care.
Kerr may not find a landing spot like the Rams
When Stafford signed with the Rams, two years after the Rams lost to the Patriots in Super Bowl LIII, he was seen as the missing piece to be upgraded over Goff. Los Angeles had a number one defense and the Cooper Cup, among other compelling productions. Among the logical landing spots, we’re not sure there’s such a destination for Kerr in 2023, but the Jets, with defensemen Brees Hall and Garrett Wilson, might be the closest bet.
Add it all up, and just as their careers with the Lions and Raiders are similar, it takes a lot of time for a star to fit in with Kerr the way Stafford did. . Still, I think a lot of people would be rooting for Kerr’s better circumstances after 10 years with the Raiders.
