The Oakland Raiders are heading into OTAs with quarterback Derek Carr dealing with a hand injury and that could leave Christian Ponder and Matt McGloin as the main starters for workouts and this comes as players like Amari Cooper, Michael Crabtree, Latavius Murray, Trent Richardson, Clive Walford and Mychal Rivera are competing for playing time as starters.
The Raiders are coming into the season with a new head coach in Jack Del Rio and he is hoping to give the team a winning attitude for 2015. Expectations are high for Cooper, as CSN Bay Area reports that he had a strong rookie minicamp and should be the number one starter at wide receiver this season. Cooper is in ahead of Michael Crabtree and Rod Streater, while players like Murray, Richardson, Roy Helu and Michael Dyer are competing for playing time on offense.
Carr is coming into year two after a solid rookie season, but the beginning of his offseason workout program could be delayed a bit. According to CSN Bay Area, Carr likely will miss the start of OTA workouts with the team, as he is dealing with a hand injury and may need surgery. Carr's agent came out to say that the hand injury is not serious and that he will not need surgery, but if he is out that leaves the Raiders with a void in OTAs.
While training camp is the most important part of the offseason, as time missed by Carr working with players like Cooper and Crabtree could be a detriment for the offense. According to Lev Facher of the San Francisco Chronicle, the injury is "very minor" and Carr is expected to be ready for training camp. In the meantime that means Ponder and McGloin will be splitting reps and so far Del Rio has not said if either player will be the main backup for Carr.
The Raiders could consider bringing in a veteran like Michael Vick or another free agent as a backup for OTAs, but right now it looks like it will be Ponder or McGloin. Carr is expected to get better in season two and so is the offense, as the team has added Cooper, Clive Walford, Rodney Hudson and Crabtree to a group that has Rod Streater, Latavius Murray and Mychal Rivera. The team has high expectations for Cooper and they also could push Walford to start, as the coaching staff loves his size and blocking ability.
Ponder was signed in the offseason and he could have the inside edge over McGloin, but McGloin has starting experience with the Raiders. Ponder has started games in Minnesota, but he is new to the team and that could give McGloin a leg up. McGloin came in as undrafted free agent playing behind Terrelle Pryor and he ended up with eight TDs and eight picks during the 2013 season.
Ponder has 36 career starts so he has a leg up there, while Carr comes in with 16 from last season and McGloin has six in the games he has played for the Raiders. Cooper is going to be a starter and any time Carr misses working with him will have to be made up for over training camp for the Raiders, but he is expected to be 100 percent by the summer.
