The Facts: Carr said he was confident the Oakland Raiders would not draft a quarterback this offseason, but did admit the constant swirl of speculation got under his skin. "Honestly, it got annoying after a while," Carr admitted Tuesday after the team's first OTA practice, in his first meeting with Bay Area media since the 2018 season finale. "I'm like, 'Really, they don't have nothing else to talk about?' And I didn't help the situation, trying to challenge people to fights."

Diehards Line:Carr laughed, but he was not happy in January when he did, in fact, challenge ESPN First Take's Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman to an MMA-style match due to criticism they levied at Carr. That the Raiders did not pick a QB with any of their nine selections in April's draft -- instead sticking with Carr and backups Nathan Peterman, Mike Glennon and Landry Jones -- only solidified Carr as the franchise quarterback. Particularly after conversations with owner Mark Davis, GM Mike Mayock and HC Jon Gruden, who believes Carr did "a lot of good things" last season. By adding weapons such as receivers Antonio Brown, who did not attend the first practice of the voluntary OTAs after being at most of the offseason training program's first phase, and Tyrell Williams and right tackle Trent Brown, "hopefully a lot of these thing will show up and he'll be a great quarterback, which I know he will be," Gruden added. And if Carr and the Raiders struggle mightily this season, more speculation will mount, especially since the dead-money hit for the Raiders would be a relatively manageable $5 million if they cut or trade him next offseason.