Sunday, we found out the bad news for Raiders starting quarterback Jason Campbell. He will be out for the season with a broken collarbone. Leaving the team with questions at quarterback starting with; What’s next for the Raiders?
Eventually the Raiders did take care of business and did everything in their power to win. One play came off a fake kick on a pass from punter Shane Lechler to tight end Kevin Boss that resulted in a touchdown. Another scoring play happen also on special teams, when wide receiver Jacoby Ford ran on a kick return 101 yards to putting on a show from end zone to end zone. The Raiders did find a way to pull out a victory over the Cleveland Browns 24-17 but lost their starting quarterback in the process.
Campbell’s injury came in the second quarter while he was trying to run to get a first down Campbell and landed hard on his shoulder after being hit at the end of a scramble by Cleveland linebackers Chris Gocong and Scott Fujita with about four minutes left in the half.
Monday Campbell, stated “I’m having surgery today. It was a tough break,” … “I’m going to stay positive. If everything goes right I could be back in six weeks.” San Jose Mercury News
Leaving the Raiders with several options at quarterback:
The team can stick to what they have in place and run with the quarterback Kyle Boller a that understands the Raiders system. He replaced Campbell the rest of the way against the Browns and completed 8-of-14 passes for 100 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in Sunday’s win over the Browns. Boller has 46 starts in his career and is experienced veteran with career completion rate of 70.4.
Other names will surface in the next few days as result from the injury to Campbell. Possibilities range from picking up former Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback David Garrard, who was cut earlier this year. It was reported by Adam Schefter Monday morning the Raiders have contact Garrard about him become the Raiders quarterback. But Jay Glazer twitted Garrard needs immediate surgery on herniated disc in his back and basically leaving this option closed.
Reported: by Yahoo sports, as early as Sunday night: The Raiders are opening door to trading with the Cincinnati Bengals for semiretired Carson Palmer, who has experience leading a team to the playoffs. But that is a long shot since owner of the Bengals Mike Brown is most likely not willing to budge, leaving this option more than likely not happening.
Another possibility is their long time rival Denver Broncos maybe willing to trade Kyle Orton, since Tim Tebow is now going to run their starting offense but unlikely from a division opponent a trade will occur. At this time the Raiders have not pursued this option as of yet. Plus this option clearly does not fit the Raiders offensive scheme well with their vertical passing game.
In both trades the Raiders are already lacking a vast amount of draft picks so if anything these trades are not the best options.
Leaving the Raiders with another option and most likely the quarterback of the future of the team, Terrell Pryor that just was officially activated Monday after a five-game suspension and one-week roster exemption. But in reality at this time I doubt he is capable of leading the team to contention without even taking a snap in the NFL.
A final option maybe to resign veteran quarterback Trent Edwards to the Raiders, when you think about he knows the system and has the ability to make give the Raiders a chance.
Sorting out the starting quarterback situation will not be an easy task for rookie head coach Hue Jackson. This season the team has established great character and knowledge of understanding how to win no matter what stands in their way.
The Raiders offense needs a clear cut veteran quarterback, capable of leading the team. By staying on track on what the Raiders have already put on the table so far this season. A quarterback, that simply knows the system fits best.
When you think about it Boller may be the best option.
