Raiders must be careful with Derek Carr
The Oakland Raiders are in a very tough spot. After winning their first two games, the Raiders dropped their last two, falling in ugly fashion to both the Washington Redskins and Denver Broncos to fall to 2-2 on the season.
In most divisions, that wouldn’t be much of a problem. In the AFC West, it is pushing yourself to the brink of extinction, even a quarter of the way into the season. The Broncos, who beat the Raiders 16-10 in Week 4, are 3-1, while the Kansas City Chiefs are the league’s only remaining undefeated team at 4-0.
To make matters worse, quarterback Derek Carr broke a transverse process in his back, putting him out 2-6 weeks. However, there are reports that Carr was throwing lightly at Raiders practice on Thursday, and while he has been ruled out for this Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens at the Oakland Coliseum, he might be pushing to return next Sunday at home against the Los Angeles Chargers.
With the initial diagnosis being 2-6 weeks, Carr would be pushing the boundaries of medicine, rest and the human body. We’ve seen players come back from this injury early before (Tony Romo came back from a broken transverse process after a week) but the risk is great. If the injury isn’t properly healed and Carr gets hit by someone the wrong way, we could be looking at a lengthy stay on the sideline, perhaps even a trip to IR.
While Oakland can’t afford many losses if it want to win the West for the first time since 2002, it also can’t do anything without Carr. Last year, the team watched Carr break his leg on Christmas Eve in a win over the Indianapolis Colts, only to lose the following week in Denver before being blown out of the Wild Card round against the Houston Texans.
The Raiders would be better off trying their hand with EJ Manuel for a few weeks and hoping for the best, rather than allowing Carr to push his body beyond its normal limits for an expedited comeback. If Carr were to sit for two weeks, he could come back in Week 7 for a Thursday night showdown against the Chiefs. There may not be a more important game on the schedule than than all year for the Silver and Black.
Ultimately, the Raiders desperately need Carr to get back on the field. The sooner the better, but without a full picture of health, getting him in the lineup would be both dangerous and short-sighted. Even if waiting a few extra weeks means only a shot at a wild card berth, it’s better than risking the safety of your franchise quarterback for a shot at the division.
