Will Derek Carr's search for a Super Bowl end like Matthew Stafford's? It's on the same track. Carr is moving on from the Raiders after succumbing to a losing team for nine seasons, just like Stafford moved on after 12 fruitless seasons with the Lions. Stafford immediately found glory with the Rams, answering the critics who said he wasn't a winner. Carr's next act is on deck.
Where Stafford went west to LA, Carr might be bound for New York. The Jets, who have a roster built to win but a hole under center, are one of his likeliest landing spots. (The Colts and Commanders also bear watching.) Whoever ponies up for Carr will be getting the AFC's version of Stafford, a big-armed, big-hearted gunslinger who needs some help getting over the top.
Carr turns 32 this offseason. Stafford was 32 when the Lions agreed to trade him to the Rams for Jared Goff and a haul of draft picks two years ago. The Raiders made two playoff appearances in the Carr era, losing in the wild card round both times. The Lions made three one-and-done playoff appearances with Stafford.
For both quarterbacks, 2016 looms large. Carr was having an MVP-caliber season with the first-place Raiders before breaking his leg in December and watching his team lose the division to the Chiefs and bow out on the road in the first round of the playoffs. Stafford was having an MVP-caliber season with the first-place Lions before mangling his throwing hand in December as Detroit lost the division to the Packers and bowed out on the road in the first round of the playoffs. We'll never know what could have been.
We do know this: both Stafford and Carr rewrote the record books for the franchises that drafted them, all-time passing leaders in just about every category. And they put up eerily similar numbers in the process. Eliminating his rookie season when he joined the first 0-16 team in NFL history, Stafford had the exact same passer rating with the Lions as Carr had with the Raiders: 91.8. He had a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 2.17. Carr's was 2.19.
You want game-winning drives? Stafford had a franchise-record 42 of them with the Lions, or 3.5 per year. Carr had a franchise-record 33 of them with the Raiders, or 3.7 per year. And what did all those clutch throws get them? Not a single division title. Stafford's winning percentage with the Lions: .448. Carr's with the Raiders: .444.
When Carr wrote a farewell this week to Raiders fans, it might as well have been Stafford speaking to Detroit: "We have certainly been on a roller coaster in our (time) together. We had our share of both heartbreaking moments and thrilling game-winning drives, and it always felt like you were there next to me.
"It’s especially hard to say goodbye because I can honestly say I gave you everything I had, every single day, in season and in the offseason. It certainly wasn’t perfect, but I hope that I was able to leave you with more than a few great memories.”
Trouble was, their franchises never gave them everything in return. Oh, they tried, and tried and tried again, only to wind up starting over and over. Stafford played for three full-time head coaches and four offensive coordinators in Detroit, Carr for four full-time head coaches and four offensive coordinators in Oakland/Vegas. And both were finally driven out by an import from the Patriots, Matt Patricia for Stafford, Josh McDaniels for Carr.
The Lions drafted Stafford in 2009 and proceeded to arm him with two top-10 defenses and zero top-10 rushing attacks in Detroit. The Raiders drafted Carr in 2014 and proceeded to arm him with two top-10 rushing attacks and zero top-10 defenses in Oakland/Vegas. Both quarterbacks elevated their games as the years pressed on, and in many ways watched the teams around them get worse. Stafford had a passer rating of 96.0 over his final five seasons with the Lions, and a winning percentage of .451. Carr had a passer rating of 95.2 over his final five seasons with the Raiders, and a winning percentage of .438.
"I never envisioned it ending this way," wrote Carr. "That fire burning inside of me to win a championship still rages. … I look forward to a new city and a new team who will get everything I have. Winning a championship is what I’ve always wanted and what I will continue to work toward."
The Lions and Raiders were never good enough for Stafford and Carr, who were never quite good enough to overcome it. Stafford got his championship in LA. Now Carr is leaving Vegas, for vindication of his own.
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