USA Today

Updates from Tuesday, Sept. 2

A day after the announcement that Derek Carr will start the season over Matt Schaub, both QB's talked about the move via Scott Bair of CSNCalifornia.com and Vic Tafur of The San Francisco Chronicle:

Original Text

Following four preseason games that saw veteran quarterback Matt Schaub and rookie gunslinger Derek Carr get virtually the same number of snaps to showcase their ability, head coach Dennis Allen has named Carr as his Week 1 starter, according to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports:

Raiders coach Dennis Allen commented on his decision via USA Today's Lindsay Jones:

Vic Tafur of the The San Francisco Chronicle confirms Carr is getting the first-team reps in practice:

There are two huge factors that worked in Carr's favor. First, he was fantastic this preseason, with a completion percentage of 66.7, four touchdowns, one interception, 108.7 quarterback rating and a strong 7.2 yards per attempt.

Second, and more important, Schaub doesn't appear to be fully healthy right now. The veteran quarterback was held out of practice all week prior to the final preseason game against Seattle with elbow soreness, per Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune:

We can talk all we want about preseason numbers, but usually when a rookie takes over at the start of the season, it's because things have not gone according to plan with the veteran.

However, Carr's performance against the Seattle Seahawks signaled a huge shift in the quarterback dynamic. He had 143 yards and three touchdowns on 11-of-13 passing, prompting Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News to make this statement:

Allen didn't necessarily disagree with any sentiment that Carr should be his starting quarterback in Week 1 after the game, saying in his postgame press conference, via Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com, that he liked all of the quarterbacks on his roster:

"We have three guys that can be starting quarterbacks," Allen said. "We'll have to see where Matt (Schaub) is on Monday."

The Raiders are in an interesting period of transition right now. Allen is entering his third season as head coach, coming off back-to-back 4-12 seasons, so he has to start showing results soon or else the team will be looking to make a change.

There could be a lot of money for the front office to spend on free agents, as the team currently has about $85 million in salary commitments for 2015 (h/t Spotrac.com) and a potential salary cap of $145 million next year, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.

Being able to groom Carr for the future in a season where the expectations are still relatively low for the Raiders bodes well for the franchise. He can gain valuable experience as a starting quarterback, develop chemistry with the receivers already on the roster and get help for next season.

For the first time in years, it feels like there is a blueprint in Oakland that the front office and coaching staff are following. Carr is the start of the process and will be served well by this opportunity, one he's earned through performance on the field.