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- Mar 19, 2019
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On April Fool’s Day, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr apparently was in no mood for joking.
On the same day coach Jon Gruden, who has publicly pledged allegiance to Carr, worked out quarterback Kyler Murray — and a day before Gruden was due to work out quarterback Dwayne Haskins — Carr tweeted without comment a photo of himself doing the Robert DeNiro “watching you” gesture.
Many have connected Carr’s tweet to the team’s due diligence, a very public gesture that should, if Carr truly is bothered by the situation, include a private effort by Carr to ask Gruden directly what he’s trying to do in kicking tires on Murray and Haskins. Maybe Gruden is simply evaluating the players so that, if the opportunity to trade down presents itself, he’ll be able to make a persuasive argument for getting more than the team looking to move up may offer.
Of course, what Gruden says to Carr may not matter much. He had a reputation among Buccaneers players of saying one thing and doing another, and Gruden has every right to fully and completely support Carr until the moment Gruden no longer does. That’s what plenty of other coaches and teams routinely do.
Gruden didn’t pick Carr. Gruden inherited Carr. And Gruden is trying to make it work. Gruden needs to make decisions in the best interests of the team. If that means making a decision to move on from Carr (or, for now, drafting his eventual replacement), that’s what Gruden needs to do.