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It’s been a rough season for Raiders quarterback Derek Carr.

Carr’s taken 47 sacks and a lot of other hits after getting rid of the ball for a 3-11 team. The on-field pounding has been accompanied by occasional criticisms from head coach Jon Gruden that have led some to speculate about his future with Oakland, but Gruden’s most recent comments about the quarterback have been positive.

Gruden said Monday that Carr “is a hell of a player” and that the team has to get better around him in order to make something of those efforts.

“I think he’s hanging in there,” Gruden said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “No question, I am sure he is sore. He knows he is carrying us right now on offense. That’s what a franchise quarterback is paid to do, but we are doing everything we can to support him, to try and put him in position to audible at the line of scrimmage, fix problems, and move the football and ultimately win games. He really has had us in position to win a lot of these games. It’s a credit to him.”

Carr hasn’t taken nearly as many hits as his brother David took early in his career with Houston, but the elder Carr’s career trajectory is a good illustration of why the Raiders need to hit on their efforts to build up the team around the quarterback before the pounding takes a major toll on his performance.