PRIME PROS
Quarterbacks are vital to all NFL teams, but for the Raiders and Chargers, they mean everything
Derek Carr is the Raiders’ $25-million-per-year man and is worth every penny.
The star quarterback, who ascended from cautious second-round pick to masterful most-valuable-player candidate, is the centerpiece of a franchise on the rise.
When he went down with a broken leg on Christmas Eve, Carr’s value to the team came into precise focus.
The Raiders were done without him, losing to Denver at the end of the regular season with the AFC West hanging in the balance, then making a one-and-done appearance in the playoffs with a loss at Houston.
Not only did Carr throw 28 touchdown passes with only six interceptions, but also he led them to seven come-from-behind victories in the fourth quarter or overtime.
Now, hope springs anew as Carr — who signed a five-year, $125-million contract in the offseason that at the time made him the game’s highest-paid quarterback — is rehabilitated and back up to speed for a team laden with standouts on both sides of the ball.
Like Carr is to the Raiders, Philip Rivers is essential to the success of the Chargers. But Rivers is a vital component when it comes to marketing the franchise in Los Angeles too, as he’s the club’s most recognizable and respected player.
Rivers can reach a couple of milestones this season:
He needs 4,167 yards passing to become the seventh player in NFL history to reach 50,000 passing yards in his career. In 13 seasons, he has 45,833.
He has 3,811 completions and needs 189 to become the eighth player in history with at least 4,000.
Because Rivers is so important to the Chargers ingratiating themselves to their new market, the team asked he not attend the Hall of Fame induction of LaDainian Tomlinson, his old running back, so he could be on hand for a scrimmage against the Rams at StubHub Center.
That sparked speculative reports that there might be brewing tension between Rivers and new coach Anthony Lynn.
Rivers disputed that in an interview on XTRA 1360 Fox Sports Radio.
“It’s great,” Rivers said of his relationship with Lynn.
“It’s been awesome since Day 1. We sat and visited for a long time, way back before we even got close to talking about taking the practice field.
“And then, shoot, we visit daily, whether it’s on the practice field talking about our guys, talking about this or talking about schedules or talking about that. So it’s been great. I do think that that’s — what’s the term that’s gotten popular? — fake news.”
Kansas City doesn’t have as heralded a quarterback as Oakland or the Chargers, but the Chiefs have a steady option in Alex Smith.
He has been under center for 41 wins in the last four years and holds the highest passer rating in club history (92.2) during any four-year span.
Waiting in the wings is rookie first-round pick Patrick Mahomes, although he and Smith are entirely different quarterbacks. Whereas Smith is more traditional and conservative in his play, Mahomes is far less structured and is better playing outside a system and improvising.
Smith said, though, that the Chiefs’ quarterbacks have the same competitive nature.
“We keep score every day in everything we do. That’s kind of the culture,” he said. “I don’t care if we are playing cards, shooting darts or throwing at nets, or [in] seven-on-seven who throws the most touchdowns. Completion percentage every day. Those are things every single day that we compete at.”
There was plenty of competition in Denver too, before Trevor Siemian, last year’s starter, beat out Paxton Lynch, a firstround pick in 2016, for the top job.
“For me,” Lynch said before the decision was made, “it’s just another week of getting better and focusing on yourself and making yourself a better player day in and day out and making those guys around you play better.”