Earlier this week, Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie told the Bay Area News Group that he had a “really good idea”who his starting quarterback would be come September.
McKenzie pulled off a deal that will be dissected for months to come after trading a late round pick to Houston for quarterback Matt Schaub.
Raiders head coach Dennis Allen made it clear that Matt Schaub was brought in to start, and for years to come.
“We brought Matt Schaub in to be our starting quarterback,” coach Dennis Allen said, per the team’s official site. “We feel very confident that he is going to be able to come in and function in that role and be outstanding for us. Obviously, we love having competition within the team, but right now Matt Schaub is our starting quarterback.”
Allen at least for this year wasn’t joking.
By absorbing Schaub’s $11 million salary for 2014, the Raiders will pay Schaub a upper echelon salary when it comes to the league average.
“We weren’t going to let last season deter us from the player and the track record that he has shown over his career,” offensive coordinator Greg Olson said. “He was our No. 1 target from Day 1, and it was just a matter of getting the deal done.”
“He’s 32 years old and will be 33 when the season starts. You look at Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, all these guys are beginning to get up there in age so I think that this guy can play for a while,” Allen said.
