Raiders Name Derek Carr Starting QB

8:02pm: Allen confirmed to reporters, including Bill Williamson of ESPN.com (on Twitter), that Carr will be the Raiders’ starter, noting that it’s not a week-to-week proposition — Schaub is the clear No. 2.

5:14pm: After the Raiders acquired Matt Schaub from the Texans over the offseason, it was widely assumed the veteran would be the team’s starting signal-caller come Week 1. However, just six days before Oakland’s opener against the Jets, the team has made a depth chart alteration, as Jay Glazer of Fox Sports 1 reports (Twitter link) that rookie Derek Carr will start at QB against New York.

Schaub had been dealing with an elbow injury throughout the preseason, but head coach Dennis Allen contended that the ailment was not serious. However, Schaub’s absence allowed Carr, the 36th overall selection in May’s draft, to take the quarterback reins during Oakland’s exhibition games. The Fresno State product ran with the starting role, completing 67% of his passes for 326 yards and four touchdowns. Admittedly, Carr’s success came mostly against backups, but the numbers are still impressive for a player who was considered something of a project coming out of college.

Glazer’s report indicates that Carr will be the starter going forward, rather than just a temporary replacement until Schaub is healthy. Carr will be the only rookie QB to start for his team in Week 1, as the Jaguars, Browns, and Vikings opted against starting Blake Bortles, Johnny Manziel and Teddy Bridgewater, respectively. For his part, Schaub will earn $8MM while acting as the No. 2 quarterback — another $3MM is available to him via incentives, but they are likely unreachable unless he re-takes the starting job at some point.

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