LAS VEGAS (AP) — Quarterback Derek Carr said Thursday in his first public comments since being benched by Las Vegas Raiders coach Josh McDaniels that he is ready for the challenge of playing in a new city.
“I once said that if I’m not a Raider I would rather be at home and I meant that, but I never envisioned it ending this way,” Carr posted on Twitter. “That fire burning inside of me to win a championship still rages. A fire no man can extinguish; only God. So I look forward to a new city and a new team who, no matter the circumstance, will get everything I have.”
Carr started 142 games over nine seasons for the Raiders, providing stability to a franchise that had cycled through 17 starting quarterbacks in the 11 years before he arrived as a second-round pick in 2014.
Carr helped lead the Raiders to playoff appearances in 2016 and 2021 and owns multiple team records, including most career yards passing (35,222) and touchdown passes (217). But he also had the third-most starts for one team in the Super Bowl era for a quarterback who never won a playoff game for the team.
Carr struggled in his first year under McDaniels, despite the addition of star receiver and close friend Davante Adams to the offense, and was benched with two weeks remaining in the regular season.
Carr had his lowest marks since his rookie season in completion rate (60.6%) and passer rating (86.3), while posting his highest interception rate (2.8%) and his lowest yards per attempt (7.0) since 2017.
That ultimately led to the decision from McDaniels and first-year general manager Dave Ziegler to move on from Carr less than a year after signing him to a three-year extension for $120.5 million.
The deal signed last April gave Carr a $5 million raise in 2022, but provided an out for Las Vegas this offseason. The Raiders have until Feb. 15 to release Carr or his $32.9 million salary for 2023 and $7.5 million of his $41.9 million salary for 2024 will be guaranteed.
The Raiders can try to reach an agreement on a trade for Carr before that deadline but a deal can’t be finalized until the start of the new league year March 15. Any team that acquires Carr would then take on the rest of the contract, which would include the guarantees in 2023-24 and a nonguaranteed $41.2 million salary for 2025.
Carr has a no-trade clause in his deal, giving him control over his destination. That could force the Raiders to simply cut him, absorbing a $5.6 million charge on the 2023 salary cap but saving more than $29 million.
“Derek’s tenure with the Raiders is effectively finished,” Carr’s agent, Tim Younger, posted on Twitter. “Relationships do end, but as is the case here, a treasure of memories and friendships remain, along with a very special bond with his fans. These won’t end.
“Teams constantly search for franchise players who invest themselves completely, as Derek did for nearly a decade, maybe even to a fault. That’s his true legacy here, much more than the numerous team records he holds.”
Carr thanked the fans in Las Vegas and Oakland as well as the organization.
“It’s especially hard to say goodbye because I can honestly say that I gave you (the fans) everything I had, every single day, in season, and in the offseason,” Carr wrote. “It certainly wasn’t perfect, but I hope that I was able to leave you with more than a few great memories as Raider fans.”
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I don’t know if you heard about this, but Derek Carr is no longer the quarterback of the Raiders. He held the position for nine years, despite just two winning records and zero playoff wins in that time.
None of that could possibly fall on him, though. It was always everyone else who was the problem. The front office, the coaches, and the players around him were always the problem.
How do we know this? Well, just ask his brother, who has held a position as an analyst for NFL Network for seven of Derek’s nine seasons in the league.
Last week David told viewers to tune into NFL Network Monday to hear him ‘get a few things off his chest’ about how faultless his brother was in the Raiders difficulties over his career with the Raiders and how the Raiders simply didn’t appreciate him despite his steadfast loyalty to them.
I’ll let David tell it…
“Derek Carr has said for a long time ‘I’m only going to play for the Raiders.’ It’s the Raiders or no one else. Such loyalty. So, he was fully invested,” David said of Derek. “Six head coaches, Khalil Mack gets traded, Amari Cooper’s shipped off, Jon Gruden gets fired midseason, he’s going through all this turmoil, right? He never called out a coach, never called out the organization, never called out the top brass in the organization, never said anything.”
Ok, I gotta stop right here. Because someone needs to pushback on this as his colleagues never would.
1. So, wait…poor quarterback play had nothing to do with the coaching turnover? None whatsoever? Ok. 2. True, Jon Gruden used making Derek Carr the highest paid player in NFL history as their excuse for trading Mack rather than paying him. 3. Amari Cooper had instant success with the Cowboys. Again, nothing to do with a change in quarterbacks? None at all? Ok. 4. Gruden was fired, sure. But, hey, David, who was it who traded Khalil Mack away again? I’ll let you think that over.
Continue…
“All he did was try to bring people in. He tried to bring in his best friend, which he was successful at in Davante Adams. That trade was dead. The Packers and the Raiders weren’t going to trade, right? They got on the phone and made it happen. So, he’s bringing people in the entire time.”
Again, sorry, let me stop you. That’s a great get and Derek deserves considerably credit for that. Adams has credited Derek for his coming to the Raiders. You said people, though. Who other than Adams is Derek credited with bringing in? Antonio Brown? Anyone else?
Sorry, keep going…
“Is he appreciated for that? No. I sit on this desk and every year I have to talk about Derek “Is he going to be replaced? Someone’s going to bring him in. They got to trade, they got to do this, they got to do that.’
Gotta jump in here to point out that’s the talk outside the organization. Kinda comes with the territory. Not unique to Derek. Though being a starting QB for nine years despite never winning a playoff game might be.
Go on…
“All he did was go out and be the all-time leading passer in the history of the Raiders.”
Nine years. Starting QB. Last Raiders QB to have nearly that many starts last took the field in Silver & Black 43 years ago. Bit of a different era.
I digress…
“So, when I look at this it wasn’t Derek that changed, it was the Raiders that changed. So, when I go forward with Derek that conversation of him being retired or a Raider is no longer an option. He’s playing football again. He’s reinvigorated. He’s going out and the Raiders are going to seek a trade, they’re going to bring trades, which Derek has a no-trade clause, and they’re going to listen. And he’s going to look for teams that have a stable situation between their head coach and their ownership, right? Stable. He’s also going to be looking for a team that is also looking for a quarterback that has a reputation for game-winning drives and fourth quarter comebacks. I’m excited. Maybe he’s the missing piece for someone. We’ll see what happens. I’m excited for my brother’s future. I’m a little upset. That’s what happens.”
Let’s be honest, the only way Derek was going to retire after his time with the Raiders is if they had kept giving him the keys to the offense indefinitely. He had nine years. When that’s not enough and he’s still seen as a victim, there was never really any chance he was going to retire rather than try to keep playing.
And that’s great news for the Raiders. They would very much like to get some compensation for him from a team that may buy into what David says and thinks Derek was never the issue with the Raiders and thinks they can salvage him.
You kind of knew this was how it was going to end for Derek Carr and the Raiders.
Back when the quarterback got booed by the home fans in the Raiders’ last game in Oakland in 2019 …
Back when the Raiders gave him a “long-term” extension in April with a small signing bonus and a peculiar opt-out clause …
And back in November, when Carr broke down in a postgame news conference, overcome with frustration over how this season has gone and also his nine years here …
On Wednesday, with the 6-9 team still having a mathematical albeit minuscule chance at making the playoffs, the Raiders benched Carr for the season’s final two games, beginning Sunday against the 49ers. They don’t want to be on the hook for $32.9 million guaranteed next season (and another $7.5 million in 2024) if Carr gets injured in the next two weeks.
That tells you all you need to know about the team’s feelings about Carr. Coach Josh McDaniels said he wanted the opportunity to evaluate backup Jarrett Stidham (who he also had with the Patriots). That’s as plausible as some national reports that the Raiders haven’t made a decision on Carr for next season and wanted to preserve his health for a possible trade … if that’s what they end up doing.
In truth, Carr has been a marked man for a while — and it’s something he would joke about, saying that he was supposed to be traded years ago whenever a new rumor popped up.
GO DEEPER
Reed: Derek Carr is taking the fall, but pressure is now on Raiders’ brass
Owner Mark Davis has in fact been lukewarm on Carr for a while, apparently thinking the quarterback should have overcome all the disastrous draft picks and free-agent signings and all the coaches that Davis has hired and fired since 2014. When Davis hired general manager Dave Ziegler and McDaniels in January, he let them make the call on continuing on with Carr.
During that interview process, Ziegler and McDaniels had to be a little taken aback by what they heard about Carr. Davis turned over the reins of the two-week search to former vice president of player personnel Ken Herock, and Herock, now 81, is not one to mince words. Other GM and coaching candidates were shocked by how despairingly Raiders officials in the interview room spoke of Carr, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Carr, after all, had been the face of the organization for nine years — never saying a bad word despite all of the franchise’s embarrassing moments — and was great in the community and pretty good on the field. He is the Raiders’ all-time leader in touchdown passes (with 217) and became the first QB in Raiders history to pass for 30,000 career yards and only the fifth player in NFL history with at least 30,000 yards in his first eight seasons.
But he didn’t win. The Raiders had two winning seasons and two playoff appearances in Carr’s nine years, and he missed one of those playoff games (in 2016) with a broken leg. Last year, Carr’s leadership was a big reason the Raiders overcame some horrible off-field incidents and coach Jon Gruden resigning over racist, homophobic and misogynistic e-mails to make the playoffs, but Davis lingered on the playoff loss to the Bengals (and some Carr decisions on the last drive).
Derek Carr’s only playoff game as a Raider was a loss to the Bengals in last year’s wild-card round. (Kareem Elgazzar / USA Today)
There have always been questions about Carr’s toughness in the pocket — ironic because he has been one of the most durable quarterbacks in the league, only missing three games in nine seasons — and while Gruden warmed up to him in his 3 1/2 years here and was a big supporter in the end, Davis never really was.
The Raiders flirted with Tom Brady in the 2020 offseason before Gruden decided Brady was too old. They wound up signing Marcus Mariota to push Carr, and Carr buried him. The competition was over before it started, due to Carr’s arm talent.
Carr got better and better under Gruden — and was even becoming more aggressive scrambling and extending plays in the pocket — and the Raiders started 3-0 in 2021. But Gruden was gone two weeks later, when the e-mails leaked, and then No. 1 receiver Henry Ruggs III was released after his car crash that left a woman and her dog dead and led to multiple felony charges for DUI and reckless driving resulting in death and bodily harm.
The Raiders still made the playoffs but Davis decided not to retain interim coach Rich Bisaccia despite his success and popularity with the players. He went with the Patriots model and hired Bill Belichick proteges Ziegler and McDaniels. Davis then let them make the call on Carr, and they not only decided to extend his deal but also traded for receiver Davante Adams, a perennial All-Pro, one of Carr’s best friends and a former teammate at Fresno State.
But the Raiders underachieved, becoming the first team in NFL history to blow four double-digit halftime leads. It was clear that McDaniels and Carr were never in sync. Carr would make a point early in the season to say that he was only trying to do exactly what McDaniels wanted, and the more times he said it, the more people upstairs bristled. Carr’s completion percentage of 60.8 and passer rating of 86.3 are his lowest since his rookie season and his 7.0 yards per attempt and 235 yards per game are his lowest since 2017, and while McDaniels owns some of that, he is not going anywhere.
Ziegler and McDaniels met for two nights to discuss Carr’s status, and my read is that Tuesday night, they were leaning toward keeping Carr as the starter. They have, after all, been preaching the importance of winning and are still technically alive for the playoffs (though it’s possible they are eliminated before they take the field Sunday). Carr is a team captain and very respected by teammates in the locker room, and teammates may not think making him a scapegoat is fair or honorable. I think that is when Davis stepped in and decided it was time for a change.
What happens now?
Carr misses his fourth and fifth games in nine years, and the first not due to injury. He will not practice with the team and won’t be at either of their final two games to avoid being a distraction.
The Raiders can cut Carr after the season because that combined $40.4 million for 2023 and ’24 becomes fully guaranteed on Feb. 15, three days after the Super Bowl. But a more likely scenario is that the two sides agree to a trade to another team. Carr was given a no-trade clause while accepting the deal with the one-year exit plan and would have to approve any trade destination.
“We’ll see how this goes going forward. I’m not going to sit here and predict the future,” McDaniels said Wednesday of Carr’s future. “There is a lot to be sorted once the season is over.”
Carr once said that he would retire before he played for another team, and while he certainly could — he is a rare NFL player who has his future mapped out as he will be a pastor, a family man and a golfer — I don’t think that’s what happens. He is very competitive and will want to prove the Raiders made a mistake.
His friend, Adams, came to the Raiders to play with Carr and be closer to his family. He left the Packers because Aaron Rodgers’ status was up in the air, and now here he was Wednesday after practice, staring at Carr’s empty locker.
“Obviously, I don’t think anybody was excited about it in here,” Adams told reporters. “Him being one of my really good friends and the reason I came here in the first place. I wouldn’t be here right now if he wasn’t here.
“I think everybody knows how I feel about him and with that said, there is a process to how things go. I am not going to sit here and go on and on. I support my guy and we have to finish this season out the best way we can.”
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Las Vegas Raiders receiver Davante Adams pushed down a credentialed person on the field carrying equipment in the aftermath of Monday night’s 30-29 loss at the Kansas City Chiefs.
Adams later issued an apology.
“I want to apologize to the guy, there was some guy running off the field, and he ran, like jumped in front of me coming off the field and I bumped into him, kind of pushed him, and he ended up on the ground,” Adams said at his locker. “So I wanted to say sorry to him for that because that was just frustration mixed with him literally just running in from of me. I shouldn’t have responded that way, but that’s how I initially responded. So, I want to apologize to him for that.”
Adams, acquired in a blockbuster offseason trade with the Green Bay Packers, could face league discipline.
The Raiders, who fell to 1-4 with the loss, enter their bye week after blowing a 17-0 second-quarter lead.
Adams, who had three catches for 124 yards with 58- and 48-yard scores, was visibly frustrated as he walked off the field, minutes after he was involved in the Raiders’ final offensive play with 46 seconds remaining on the clock.
On fourth-and-1 from the Raiders’ 46-yard line, Adams was running free downfield when quarterback Derek Carr unleashed a deep pass. But Adams and slot receiver Hunter Renfrow ran into each other running their patterns, and the ball fell incomplete.
One play earlier, Adams seemed to have picked up a first down with a toe-tap sideline catch at the Kansas City 39-yard line before the replay official reversed the call. Adams was juggling the ball when his first foot touched down.
“I don’t want to comment too much on the officiating, but I thought that I was in,” he said.
“I thought it was a catch, but they looked at it and obviously didn’t feel that way.”
Week 4 of the NFL season is here, and teams continue to assess injuries to their players ahead of game time.
The San Francisco 49ers have suffered another blow to their offense, as star left tackle Trent Williams is expected to be out four to six weeks with an ankle injury. Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair will miss time after he sprained an MCL against the Denver Broncos. The New York Giants also lost a key offensive player after wide receiver Sterling Shepard tore an ACL against the Dallas Cowboys on Monday, ending his season.
The New England Patriots will be without quarterback Mac Jones, who suffered a high ankle sprain last week against the Baltimore Ravens. Veteran Brian Hoyer will start Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. He has lost 11 consecutive starts.
In more positive news, New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson is expected to make his 2022 debut against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Wilson has been out since the first game of the preseason because of a torn meniscus and a bone bruise in his right knee.
Our NFL Nation reporters have more updates on key players entering the weekend:
Quick links: Schedule | Depth charts | PickCenter
Injury: Knee
Patterson is officially listed as questionable on the team’s injury report, but he told ESPN on Friday that he plans on playing against the Cleveland Browns.
“I feel like I’m going to play every Sunday, no matter what the situation is,” Patterson said. “I plan on playing Sunday and we all know that’s the plan.”
Patterson, the NFL’s third-leading rusher, did not practice Wednesday or Thursday and was listed as a “resting player/knee.” He returned to practice Friday, did work on a limited basis and then was listed as questionable with a knee injury.
Coach Arthur Smith said Friday that Patterson “looked good,” but that he would assess Patterson’s status Saturday.
— Michael Rothstein
Injury: Ankle
Stanley, who is officially listed as questionable, said he’s “really close” to returning after missing 31 of the past 32 games. He was given a rest day Friday after fully practicing the previous two days. The Ravens could use the 2019 All-Pro left tackle to protect Lamar Jackson’s blind side. If Stanley can’t play, Baltimore would turn to rookie fourth-round pick Daniel Faalele to block Von Miller.
— Jamison Hensley
Injury: Quad
Barring a setback, McCaffrey should be able to go on Sunday after missing Wednesday and Thursday’s practices. McCaffrey returned to practice Friday in a limited role, and coach Matt Rhule said he was “hopeful” his star would be ready. McCaffrey gave no indication he wouldn’t be ready. “I feel great,” he said.
— David Newton
Injury: Knee
Let’s call this take two. It seemed like Gallup would make his debut last Monday against the New York Giants but he wanted some more time to feel right before coming back. He has had another week of full practices, although the Cowboys were not in pads at all this week. Gallup said he needed to clear a mental hurdle in coming back from the surgery. It appears he is trending toward playing vs. Washington, but he will work his way into the lineup on a snap count. They will not give him the full assortment of plays right away, so Noah Brown will continue as the No. 2 receiver with Gallup seeing something of a situational role. Tight end Dalton Schultz is also trending in the right direction of playing after missing the Giants game with a knee sprain. He has worn a brace in practice, and like Gallup, he might be limited in the number of snaps he plays until he is all the way back.
— Todd Archer
Injury: Groin
Patriots backup quarterback Brian Hoyer might have it a little easier if the Packers’ best coverage defensive back doesn’t play. Alexander dropped out of last week’s game at Tampa Bay, did not appear to do much in practice all week and is questionable for Sunday. Rasul Douglas moved from the slot to the outside after Alexander’s injury, and Keisean Nixon filled in in the slot.
— Rob Demovsky
Injury: Back
Leonard is listed as questionable for the first time this season after being ruled out in the previous three games. The recovery from Leonard’s offseason back surgery has lingered, but the tide turned this week.
“He’s had three pretty good days, continued to make progress,” coach Frank Reich said. “So, let’s see how he responds.”
If Leonard plays, the Colts might consider limiting his snaps. “The original thought was he would probably start out on a pitch count, but you don’t want to limit yourself. You just take it day by day and case by case and you kind of adapt as you go,” Reich said.
Injury: Elbow
Buckner is considered questionable and has been severely limited this week. But his history of playing while injured suggests that he’ll find a way to show up on Sunday. Buckner has missed just one game due to injury in his seven seasons.
Injury: Ankle
The Colts’ starting free safety will miss Sunday’s game with an ankle sprain, a development that will likely press seventh-round pick Rodney Thomas II into action. Thomas played well in last week’s game after Blackmon left the contest and impressed coaches.
— Stephen Holder
Injury: Hamstring
Allen suffered a hamstring injury in Week 1, was inactive in Week 2 and 3 and will remain on the sideline Sunday when the Chargers play the Texans. Earlier in the week, coach Brandon Staley expressed growing confidence that Allen would return in Week 4, but said Friday that the veteran receiver “felt something” during individual workouts, so he has been ruled out.
Las Vegas Raiders star tight end Darren Waller has hired new agents as he hopes to get a new contract before the start of the season.
Waller cut ties with Klutch Sports last week after less than a year with that agency and signed Wednesday with Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey.
“I plan on going to work on this right away,” Rosenhaus said in a text message about getting Waller a new contract.
Waller has two years remaining on the contract he signed during the 2019 season. He is owed just less than $14 million in those years with no guaranteed money and is seeking a new deal that reflects his production.
According to the website Over The Cap, Waller’s average annual salary ranks 17th among all tight ends in the NFL.
Since becoming a starter in 2019, Waller ranks second in the NFL among all tight ends with 252 catches for 3,006 yards, trailing only Kansas City’s Travis Kelce in both categories. He is also tied for fifth with 14 TD catches the past three years.
Waller, who turns 30 on Sept. 13, played 11 games last season when he was hampered by ankle and knee injuries. He had 55 catches for 665 yards and two TDs.
The Raiders are counting on Waller to be part of a dynamic passing attack for quarterback Derek Carr that includes All-Pro receiver Davante Adams and slot receiver Hunter Renfrow.
Waller has missed most of training camp because of an undisclosed injury. He returned to practice once on Aug. 17 but has been sidelined again since then with a hamstring injury.
Waller is returning to practice on Wednesday, Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said.
“Darren’s good. Darren’s good to go so you’ll see him today. I don’t really know anything about that whole thing, the whole [agent] situation yet,” McDaniels said Wednesday. “But he’ll be out there today and, excited about kind of moving forward here with our whole group and trying to get guys in positions where we feel like they’re going to be as we head into the opening week next week. So, just excited.”
The Raiders open the season on Sept. 11 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
EAGAN, Minn. — The Minnesota Vikings acquired quarterback Nick Mullens from the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday for a conditional 2024 draft pick, giving them an additional option behind starter Kirk Cousins amid an uneven summer for his incumbent backups.
Mullens will get a chance to unseat Sean Mannion and Kellen Mond, who have been competing for the job. Neither has stood out in training camp or in two preseason games, where the two have split reps evenly. Coach Kevin O’Connell declined to endorse either of them after Saturday night’s 17-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, during which they combined to complete 20 of 35 passes for 147 yards, with Mond throwing two interceptions.
“Ultimately you would have loved to come out of the night feeling like, shoot, they both moved the team and scored a lot of points and we’ve got a heck of a hard discussion and conversation ahead as a staff and as an organization,” O’Connell said Saturday night. “Although we didn’t do that, I still think there were some real teachable moments and then some real moments where we’ll be able to evaluate and kind of really look at where we are at that position as we kind of restack everything to go into this week to see how we need to allow those guys to compete.
“Because as we’ve talked about, in my mind the clock is going. Although I feel like our starters are in a great spot for Sept. 11, and that’s where our emphasis is really on, there’s a lot of jobs that we have to still allow to play themselves out so we feel good about the overall depth of our team, and we’ll certainly allow that in practice this week.”
Mullens started 16 games for the San Francisco 49ers from 2018 through 2020, playing in an offense similar to the one O’Connell is installing with the Vikings. He added one start last season for the Cleveland Browns, but he was behind Derek Carr and Jarrett Stidham on the Raiders’ depth chart this summer.
The Vikings overhauled their football operations this offseason, but new general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah decided to bring back all three of their 2021 quarterbacks for training camp. Cousins signed a contract extension, and Mannion signed a one-year deal. Mond was a third-round pick in the 2021 draft and has not looked ready to take over as a No. 2 quarterback this summer.
LAS VEGAS — Former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch was arrested Tuesday in Las Vegas on suspicion of driving impaired, according to police.
Officers stopped the vehicle that Lynch, 36, was driving at about 7:30 a.m., concluded that he was impaired and detained him, police said in a statement. Lynch was booked into the Las Vegas City Jail on suspicion of driving under the influence.
Authorities did not disclose whether Lynch was tested for driving impaired and did not immediately respond to an email message seeking additional details.
It was unclear if Lynch had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf. Jail records did not show one listed for him.
Lynch played 12 season the NFL, mostly with the Seattle Seahawks.
He was a five-time Pro Bowler and had 10,413 career rushing yards and 85 rushing touchdowns from 2007 to ’19 with the Seahawks, the Buffalo Bills and the Oakland Raiders.
Lynch was arrested for DUI in 2012, but pleaded down to the lesser charge of reckless driving when the case was resolved in 2014.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
The Raiders broke ground in 2020 when they became the first NFL team in Las Vegas. The move has turned into a massive success as the team was No. 1 in the NFL in net gate revenue, generating $119 million, per Front Office Sports. It’s becoming obvious that Las Vegas is a gold mine for the sports world as NBA and MLB teams could also join the market in the future.
In the meantime, the city will be adding an XFL team. The alternative football league to the NFL is being rebooted by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Dany Garcia. There will only be eight teams to start and one of them will be in Las Vegas. Though the team doesn’t have a name yet, they’ll have a strong connection to the Raiders.
NFL Hall of Famer and former Raiders defensive back Rod Woodson will be the head coach of the Las Vegas XFL team.
Woodson has been trying to make his name in coaching since 2010 and was a cornerbacks coach for the Raiders in 2011 and 2017. He’s one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history but it remains to be seen how he’ll perform as a head coach. At the very least, he brings a lot of gravitas and star power to the Las Vegas XFL team.
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Woodson Ripped Jon Gruden After Getting Fired
When Jon Gruden was hired by the Raiders in 2018, he mostly cleaned house. There were sweeping changes made to the coaching staff and roster. Woodson was a causality as he was fired upon Gruden’s hiring. Instead of taking the high road, the Hall of Famer ripped into the coach back in 2018.
“I understand Gruden, wonderful on his TV gig, did some wonderful things as a coach, but he only won 53 percent of his games,” Woodson said on Fox Sports 1 . “Ten years, $100 million. I hope Mark Davis has an out. My question would be, how many Super Bowls do you have to win for $100 million? You give that deal to Bill Belichick. But to a Jon Gruden? It’s hard for me to understand.”
Four years later, it’s clear that Woodson was not wrong in his assessment of Gruden. He went 22-31 during his return to the Raiders and resigned after a number of offensive emails were leaked to the media. Perhaps owner Mark Davis would’ve been better off had he listened to people like Woodson.
Woodson Hasn’t Coached Since Raiders Stint
Just because Woodson was right about Gruden doesn’t mean he’ll be a great head coach. He has yet to land another job after he was fired by the Raiders in 2018. That could be due to the way he handled getting fired more so than due to his job performance.
Though the XFL is not the NFL, Woodson will have his best chance yet to show off his coaching ability. If he can build a really good team in Las Vegas, perhaps he’ll start getting NFL looks once again.
The Raiders have hired Las Vegas attorney Sandra Douglass Morgan as their new team president, becoming the first-ever Black woman to hold a team president title for an NFL franchise.
Morgan’s a Las Vegas native who comes to the Raiders after previously serving as chairwoman and executive director of the Nevada Gaming Control Board. She has also served as the director of external affairs for AT&T Services, Inc. in southern Nevada and as a litigation attorney for an international gaming and hospitality company.
“I am thrilled that Sandra has agreed to join the Raiders family,” Raiders owner Mark Davis said in a statement. “Her experience, integrity and passion for this community will be invaluable to our organization. From the moment I met Sandra, I knew she was a force to be reckoned with. We are extremely lucky to have her at the helm.”
Morgan, who was the first person of color to chair the Nevada Gaming Control Board, is the third woman and third African-American to become president of an NFL team.
She is also the latest Raiders hire to break barriers. Former Raiders coach Tom Flores was the first Hispanic head coach to win a Super Bowl title and former coach Art Shell was the first Black head coach of the NFL’s Super Bowl era.
Morgan, who spent eight years with the city of North Las Vegas, was also the first Black city attorney in the state of Nevada when she served in that role from 2013 to 2016.
“I definitely never want to be the last,” Morgan said, “and I want to get to a point where there is no more firsts.”
Morgan emphasized leadership and full transparency during her introductory press conference at Allegiant Stadium.
“We have so much more to do, and I’m excited to be at the helm of that growth and look forward to ushering in the new chapter for the Raiders,” said Morgan. “The fact is I have accepted this role because I believe in the promise of the Raiders, I believe in the future of the Raiders, and I believe in this organization’s tenets of community, integrity, and most of all, commitment to excellence.”
She takes over a team that has endured tumultuous times in its front office, with two presidents and several longtime executives leaving the organization in less than a year.
After Marc Badain resigned as president last summer, Dan Ventrelle took over in July 2021 on an interim basis and was promoted to the full-time role in January.
But Ventrelle was gone less than a year after joining the organization. In a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Ventrelle said he was fired in retaliation for bringing concerns from multiple employees to the NFL about a “hostile work environment.”
“It’s no secret that this organization has faced some recent challenges, but I want to be clear, I am not here to sweep anything under the rug or avoid problems or concerns that need to be addressed,” said Morgan. “It is not lost on me that this is a critical and defining moment in the NFL. It’s important to me and it is my intention to make a meaningful contribution well beyond the Raiders family.”
Star defensive end Maxx Crosby, who attended Morgan’s introduction, said Raiders players are excited to start a new chapter.
“It’s incredible,” Crosby said. “First off, just breaking barriers and Mark has done an incredible job and it started with his father. You know, just being transparent and giving everyone an equal opportunity. She’s honestly the best for the job and it’s going to be awesome, we’re excited for the future.”
Coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler welcomed Morgan in a prepared statement.
“We congratulate Sandra Douglass Morgan on her historic hiring as team president and are excited to welcome her into the Raiders family. Sandra brings impressive leadership experience to the organization and we are thrilled to work with her as we continue to build a championship-caliber culture and team,” the statement said.
Morgan’s husband, Don, played with the Minnesota Vikings and the Arizona Cardinals between 1999 and 2002
