Throughout the preseason, the Las Vegas Raiders have handled the quarterback position unlike any other NFL team.
Third-stringer Nathan Peterman has taken every single quarterback snap.
Through the Raiders’ first two preseason games, Peterman has completed 45-of-63 passes for 418 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions.
There wasn’t much fanfare when the Raiders signed Peterman to a one-year, $2.75 million contract extension this offseason.
He has been with the team since 2018.
Peterman has attempted just five regular season passes for the team.
Most fans probably remember when Peterman threw five interceptions in the first half of his first NFL start with the Buffalo Bills in 2017.
Overall, his entire tenure with the Bills was filled with turnovers as he had a 3/12 TD/INT ratio in his two years, and just eight games with the team.
NATE PETERMAN WITH A THROW TO GIVE THE TEXANS THE LEAD!*
*he plays for the Bills pic.twitter.com/IwVzXOzxqK
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) October 14, 2018
But clearly, head coach Jon Gruden and the Raiders see something in Peterman.
He is going on his third season with the team and is getting a long look during the preseason.
While the interceptions have still be prevalent, Peterman has shown some solid potential in his preseason starting role.
Watch @derekcarrqb and the @raiders swarm @natepeterman after this TD pass.
Pretty cool. 🖤🖤🖤
📺: #LVvsLAR on @NFLNetwork (or check local listings)
📱: https://t.co/aybjCmju9Y pic.twitter.com/kDIsSQIDtt— NFL (@NFL) August 22, 2021
The Raiders wouldn’t have kept Peterman around this long if they didn’t think he had potential.
Now, for a few reasons, he is getting an opportunity to prove why he should make Las Vegas’ 53-man roster.
Front Office Love
Jon Gruden was brought in as the Raiders head coach prior to the 2018 season.
The same year Las Vegas, then Oakland, signed Peterman.
Before he was back as the Raiders head coach, Gruden was an NFL analyst for ESPN.
The 2017 NFL Draft had quarterbacks available such as Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson.
However, Gruden wrote in an article for ESPN that he felt Peterman was the most, “pro-ready,” quarterback in the entire draft:
“Peterman is ready to walk in and be a contributor from day one,” Gruden said. “He just looks like a pro quarterback — coming out of the huddle, running an offense with different formations, shifting, motioning, different patterns that other colleges don’t run. Peterman will recognize route combinations and associate formations.”
Like Gruden, general manager Mike Mayock was hired by the Raiders prior to the 2018 season.
Before he was in the front office, Mayock was a draft analyst for the NFL Network.
At Mayock’s then annual pre-draft conference call, the Raiders general manager said Peterman was a middle-round sleeper to keep an eye on.
“[T]he other guy that is a little like Kirk Cousins is Nate Peterman from Pitt. And I’ve had a lot of people tell me that is who he is. He’s similar, focused, dedicated. Don’t have a big arm, but has enough arm that he throws with anticipation and timing. He’s the kind of guy that might be a lower-level starter.”
Clearly both Mayock and Gruden felt that Peterman was a quarterback with potential entering the draft.
He did throw for 5,236 yards and 47 touchdowns during his four years in college at Tennessee and Pittsburgh.
Now that they are in the roles they’re in, they have an opportunity to see if those pre-draft inclinations were true.
Potential Trade Fill-In
For the past few seasons, starting quarterback Derek Carr has seen his name in trade rumors.
Just this past offseason, the Raiders were reportedly digging into the top quarterbacks in the draft to potentially replace Carr.
The year prior, the Raiders were connected to Kyler Murray and the idea of potentially trading up for him in the 2020 NFL Draft to replace Carr.
Carr has statistically been one of the best quarterbacks in Raiders history.
He is the franchise’s all-time passing leader with 26,896 yards.
But Carr was drafted in 2014.
The Raiders have been to the playoffs just once in his tenure, losing in the Wild Card round in 2016.
No matter what the statistics say, eventually Las Vegas is going to look into upgrading their quarterback position if they want to succeed in the postseason.
Then, there is Marcus Mariota.
The Raiders signed the former second overall pick to a two-year, $17.6 million contract.
As teams around the league look for quarterback help, Mariota is another name who has come up in trade rumors.
The Indianapolis Colts were reportedly interested in Mariota before trading for former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz.
Whether Carr or Mariota are ultimately traded is still up for discussion.
Perhaps the Raiders hold onto both.
But if Las Vegas does decide to move on, the Raiders want to see what they have in Peterman.
It would be a shock to see him actually start, but it would be a bigger shock to see Las Vegas deal one of their top two quarterbacks if they felt Peterman couldn’t succeed in the NFL.
NEXT: Raiders Reportedly Tried To Swing A Trade For Khalil Mack