Shortly after the Raiders hired 73-year-old Pete Carroll as their head coach, I saw it speculated that they might be interested in reuniting him with his former Super Bowl quarterback, Russell Wilson. It's a move that would align with a lot of franchise history.
Drafting and developing quarterbacks has never been much of a thing in the long history of the Oakland/Los Angeles/Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders franchise. Bringing in aging veterans and squeezing a couple of good years out of them -- that's the Raider way.
Consider the successful or semi-successful fantasy quarterbacks the team has had. Since 1980, which covers 45 years of history, the Raiders have had 20 seasons where a quarterback ranked in the top 15 at the position in fantasy leagues (1 point for every 20 yards passing and 10 receiving, 4-point TD passes and 6-point TD runs). Derek Carr is the only homegrown player who did it in the first 5 years of his career. Just one other homegrown player, Marc Wilson, who ranked 15th among quarterbacks back in 1985, his 6th season in the league.
Everyone else was a veteran who came to the team from another organization, usually in his 30s and often in the twilight of his career. Including all the best of those players: Jim Plunkett, Rich Gannon, Jeff Hostetler, Kerry Collins, Carson Palmer. Two of those guys got the Raiders to Super Bowls (one win); another won a playoff game.
| RAIDERS QUARTERBACKS WITH TOP-15 SEASONS, 1980-2024 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Yr | Age | GS | Pass | TD | Run | TD | Rk |
| 2002 | Rich Gannon | 16 | 37 | 16 | 4689 | 26 | 156 | 3 | 2 |
| 1999 | Rich Gannon | 13 | 34 | 16 | 3840 | 24 | 298 | 2 | 3 |
| 1997 | Jeff George | 8 | 30 | 16 | 3917 | 29 | 44 | 0 | 3 |
| 2000 | Rich Gannon | 14 | 35 | 16 | 3430 | 28 | 529 | 4 | 4 |
| 1993 | Jeff Hostetler | 10 | 32 | 15 | 3242 | 14 | 202 | 5 | 5 |
| 2001 | Rich Gannon | 15 | 36 | 16 | 3828 | 27 | 231 | 2 | 6 |
| 1996 | Jeff Hostetler | 13 | 35 | 13 | 2548 | 23 | 179 | 1 | 9 |
| 1994 | Jeff Hostetler | 11 | 33 | 16 | 3334 | 20 | 159 | 2 | 9 |
| 1982 | Jim Plunkett | 12 | 35 | 9 | 2035 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 9 |
| 2005 | Kerry Collins | 11 | 33 | 15 | 3759 | 20 | 39 | 1 | 11 |
| 2021 | Derek Carr | 8 | 30 | 17 | 4804 | 23 | 108 | 0 | 12 |
| 2016 | Derek Carr | 3 | 25 | 15 | 3937 | 28 | 70 | 0 | 12 |
| 2020 | Derek Carr | 7 | 29 | 16 | 4103 | 27 | 140 | 3 | 13 |
| 1990 | Jay Schroeder | 7 | 29 | 16 | 2849 | 19 | 81 | 0 | 13 |
| 2015 | Derek Carr | 2 | 24 | 16 | 3987 | 32 | 138 | 0 | 14 |
| 1983 | Jim Plunkett | 13 | 36 | 13 | 2935 | 20 | 78 | 0 | 14 |
| 2012 | Carson Palmer | 10 | 33 | 15 | 4018 | 22 | 36 | 1 | 15 |
| 2004 | Kerry Collins | 10 | 32 | 13 | 3495 | 21 | 36 | 0 | 15 |
| 1991 | Jay Schroeder | 8 | 30 | 15 | 2562 | 15 | 76 | 0 | 15 |
| 1985 | Marc Wilson | 6 | 28 | 13 | 2608 | 16 | 98 | 2 | 15 |
Russell Wilson is 36, and comes off a 6-6 (including the playoff loss) season with the Steelers. They were 6-1 with him until it all fell apart late in the year, so if the relationship with him and Carroll is good, perhaps they'll believe he can be their latest veteran reclamation to get the team back in the playoffs. Though I'd argue Wilson hasn't looked like a good quarterback since leaving Seattle -- even his statistically respectable tenure in Denver was more bad than good, in terms of things like wins and losses, taking sacks in critical moments and whatnot. I think the Raiders should aim much higher; they won't go anywhere with Wilson.
The list of successful quarterbacks the team has drafted is short enough to suggest they won't go that route, although they also haven't really tried. Their swing and miss with JaMarcus Russell back in 2007 seems to have made them eternally gun-shy. That was the last time they've used a first-round pick to draft a quarterback. Carr, in fact, is the only passer they've drafted before the fourth round in the last 20 years. His relative success might have you think it would encourage them to go that route again, but not so far. Since 2000, they've drafted as many kickers (1) in the first round as quarterbacks, and twice as many running backs (2).
Whether it's Wilson or not, it sure seems like the Raiders will be looking for a veteran to lead the offense next season, rather than drafting one. If they stick with what they currently have (Aidan O'Connell, Gardner Minshew), another losing season is probably in store.
--Andy Richardson