Raiders News: Jon Gruden Says Team Is 'Pleased' with Derek Carr's Play

Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden offered a vote of confidence in quarterback Derek Carr amid a disappointing season from the three-time Pro Bowler.

"We are very pleased and proud of what he has done," Gruden said, per Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "We know we got to get better around him, and that we will."

Through his broadcasting career, Gruden built a reputation as a quarterback specialist. He provided strategic insight as an analyst on Monday Night Football and during his QB Camp segments with incoming rookies on ESPN.

So far, Gruden's wisdom hasn't demonstrably helped Carr, who has thrown for 3,697 yards, 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions through 14 games.

Carr is actually on pace to finish with career highs in completion percentage (68.3) and yards per game (264.1), and he sits 13th in DYAR (defense-adjusted yards above replacement) among qualified quarterbacks, per Football Outsiders.

While Carr's struggles are somewhat overblown, his development has stagnated, which is a problem considering he's under contract with the Raiders for four more years. Oakland is clearly in rebuilding mode, so now is the time to determine whether Carr is the guy going forward.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are a perfect example of a team waiting too long to cut ties with an inconsistent quarterback. The Jaguars will have to eat a lot of dead money this offseason if they release Blake Bortles.

Carr isn't playing as badly as Bortles was before Jacksonville made Cody Kessler the starting quarterback, and he has bounced back after a slow start. Carr's last interception was in Oakland's Week 5 defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers.

Given how far they are from playoff contention, the Raiders can afford to give Carr at least one more year before seriously considering a QB change.