The Facts: The Raiders might have been “sniffing around” Tom Brady, but they never tried to shop Carr as far as we know. Instead, Brady signed with the Buccaneers, and the Raiders signed Marcus Mariota to backup Carr. As long as Carr is healthy and productive, he will start. “We’re very appreciative to have Derek Carr,” GM Mike Mayock said. “Jon [Gruden’s] offense, he’s going into year three of it. Marcus Mariota, Jon and I both know him very, very well. We feel really good about the quarterback position.”

Diehards Line:Mayock, though, still believes in Mariota. "He wants to become the best version of Marcus Mariota that he can become, and that’s the way we look at it," Mayock said. "Let’s see who the best Marcus Mariota is, and in the meantime, we love what we have with Derek Carr. We’re real happy with our quarterback room. We’ve got Nathan Peterman, who played well until he was hurt, and DeShone Kizer, a former second-round pick [of the Browns]. So we feel we’ve got a very strong quarterback room.” So, for now, Carr has the starting job, and Mariota will begin his career with the Raiders as the No. 2 and an insurance policy.