Raiders' Mike Mayock, Jon Gruden 'couldn't be happier' with QB Derek Carr

As some, including a well-known family member, continue to speculate on if Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr will remain with the team through the offseason and the start of training camp, general manager Mike Mayock became the latest Raiders employee to publicly go to bat for his current starring QB.

"Obviously, I can’t talk about anybody else’s players, so I won’t," Mayock said about a potential trade for somebody such as unsettled Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson during Wednesday's press conference, per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "I’ll just talk about Derek and I’m going to tell you the same thing I’ve told you guys the last couple years, which is I think Derek Carr had his best year yet under Jon Gruden. I think he’s one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL and we couldn’t be happier with him.

"And I tell you every year, we evaluate every position every year. I have no idea who might call me or who might not call me. So you have to do the evaluations both on your own players, and every other player in the league. And you’ve got to stack your board and understand what league value is all around the league — and we do that. But if you’re asking me about Derek, I think Jon and I would both stand shoulder to shoulder and pound the table for Derek Carr." 

Earlier this week, Raiders fullback Alec Ingold told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he believes Carr "can take this team and this organization to a Super Bowl." During a Wednesday morning appearance on NFL Network, Pro Bowl tight end Darren Waller explained that he has "all the belief in the world in Derek Carr." 

Thus far, those associated with the Raiders continue to say all the right things about Carr keeping his place atop the depth chart for at least another season. That makes sense considering the Seahawks reportedly want three first-round draft picks and other assets for Wilson's services.