Raiders' Derek Carr Replaced by Marcus Mariota vs. Chargers After Groin Injury

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr left Thursday's game against the Los Angeles Chargers with a groin injury. 

Carr limped off the field on a 3rd-and-goal play with 1:28 left in the first quarter as the Raiders trailed the Chargers 7-0. Carr took off toward the end zone, but he ran out of bounds instead.

The Raiders subsequently ruled Carr out for the remainder of the game at the start of the third quarter. 

Marcus Mariota entered the game, his first time on the field in 2020. The Raiders scored a field goal on the drive that injured Carr, and then Mariota found Darren Waller in the end zone to put them on top, 10-7, on his first drive.

Carr had a solid bounce-back season with the Raiders in 2019. The three-time Pro Bowler completed a career-high 70.4 percent of his passes and had a career-best 8.0 adjusted yards per attempt. This season he had a 68.2 completion percentage and 24 touchdowns through 13 games. 

Head coach Jon Gruden is still in the process of rebuilding Oakland's roster, but he appears to have the franchise moving in the right direction with a 7-6 record in 2020, and he handed the Kansas City Chiefs their only loss of the year so far. 

The Raiders took steps to give Carr more weapons in the offseason. They selected Alabama speedster Henry Ruggs III with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft and signed Nelson Agholor as a free agent. 

If Carr is forced to miss significant time, the veteran Mariota will take over as the Raiders' primary quarterback. Mariota signed with the team in the offseason after starting 61 games in the previous five years with the Tennessee Titans.