Raider Nation is experiencing mixed emotions in the aftermath of reports that the Oakland Raiders will be sending a late round draft pick to the Houston Texans in exchange for quarterback Matt Schaub. The Raiders have been searching for their quarterback after it became clear late last season that neither Terrelle Pryor nor Matt McGloin was ready to take the reigns as the starter. Schaub is likely the best quarterback to wear a Raiders jersey since Rich Gannon (it is debatable if he is better or worse than Carson Palmer, but that’s the only one even worth discussing), but his horrific 2013 season has many questioning the move.
Schaub has gone to two Pro Bowls and led the league in passing in 2009. He probably will not replicate those years again, but he does not need to in order to be a big upgrade for the Raiders. Even Schaub at half of his best is better than what Pryor or McGloin can do right now. Those two are young and could still develop, but nether has shown that they can play anywhere near as well as Schaub when he’s playing well.
And it was not that long ago that Schaub played VERY well. In 2012, he threw for over 4,000 yards, 22 touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 90.7. In fact, his performance in 2012 was a large part of the reason many had the Texans as potential Super Bowl contenders heading into the 2013 season. Clearly things went very poorly for Schaub last season, but they went the same way for the entire team and it is very hard to put all of the blame on him.
Is Schaub the savior for the franchise? Probably not. Is he an upgrade over what they already had? No question. Is he a good stopgap option until they can find the future quarterback? Probably the best option out there.
This is not a home run swing by general manager Reggie McKenzie, but getting a veteran quarterback who is a clear upgrade is a stand up double in a league where quarterback is the most important position on the field.
