Mike Mayock: Jon Gruden and I would pound the table for Derek Carr

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By now it’s well known that Russell Wilson‘s agent said the Raiders are one of the four teams on the quarterback’s short list if he were to request a trade.

But Las Vegas already has a quarterback under contract. And at least for now, the club seems content to roll with Derek Carr.

During his Wednesday press conference, Mike Mayock was asked indirectly about Wilson under the guise of a hypothetical: If an elite player is supposedly available, do you make the call? Or do you say I have my guy, I don’t need to pick up the phone?

“Obviously, I can’t talk about anybody else’s players, so I won’t,” Mayock said. “I’ll just talk about Derek and I’m going to tell you the same thing I’ve told you guys the last couple years, which is I think Derek Carr had his best year yet under Jon Gruden. I think he’s one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL and we couldn’t be happier with him.

“And I tell you every year, we evaluate every position every year. I have no idea who might call me or who might not call me. So you have to do the evaluations both on your own players, and every other player in the league. And you’ve got to stack your board and understand what league value is all around the league — and we do that. But if you’re asking me about Derek, I think Jon and I would both stand shoulder to shoulder and pound the table for Derek Carr.”

While Mayock effusive in his praise for Carr, he did leave a little wiggle room in what effectively amounts to a compliment sandwich. He said the Raiders couldn’t be happier with Carr, but noted any team could call. And if that team were to offer a player Las Vegas has rated higher than Carr, then anything could happen.

At this point, it still seems likely that the Raiders will have Carr behind center in 2021. But Mayock didn’t outright dismiss the possibility of acquiring a better quarterback should a team come calling.