Stars und Sternchen! » NFL. That’s the kind of stuff agents care abou

DENVER (AP) — Raiders quarterback Derek Carr had the hot hand on a sweltering afternoon Womens Derek Carr Jersey , throwing strike after strike in a nearly flawless display.The one thing he couldn’t deliver: the first win in coach Jon Gruden’s return to the sideline.Despite Carr’s record-setting day, the Raiders fell 20-19 to the Denver Broncos on Sunday when Brandon McManus hit a 36-yard field goal with 6 seconds remaining.It was the only lead of the game for the Broncos (2-0).Carr finished 29 of 32 for 288 yards and a touchdown for the Raiders (0-2). His 90.6 completion percentage is the best mark in franchise history — with a minimum of 20 attempts — topping the record of 89.5 set by Rich Gannon on Nov. 11, 2002, in Denver.“(Carr) did what we asked him to do, protect the ball, move the football,” Gruden said. “He’s a great player. He’s going to be an outstanding player. I look forward to the days ahead. Hopefully, there’s several.”Gruden’s first victory in his return to the field from the broadcast booth will come on one of those days ahead. He hasn’t won since Nov. 30, 2008, when he was with Tampa Bay. His last win against Denver was with Oakland on Nov. 5, 2001, behind three TDs from Gannon.“Tough loss,” Gruden said. “We had opportunities.”At 92 degrees, the game was the warmest home contest in Broncos history. The Raiders had team personnel holding a white curtain over the bench to offer some shade.The only thing sizzling more than the temperature was Carr’s right arm.Carr had one incomplete pass to Jordy Nelson in the first quarter and another with Nelson in the third. His last incompletion was early in the fourth with the Raiders driving. On fourth-and-1 from the Denver 33, he rolled out and threw a short pass to fullback Keith Smith, who let it fall through his hands. The Raiders punted and the Broncos marched down for a score to cut the deficit to 19-17.“We had a great play call. We had him open. I had to throw it quick, before his eyes were fully ready, with the pressure. We just didn’t connect on it,” Carr said. “Again, he’ll be thinking about that. I’ll be thinking about that, obviously the whole plane ride home. I’ll be thinking about it when I lay my head down to sleep, like I do always and probably get up and do some push-ups or something. Those are the little things we’re talking about.”Wait, there’s more to toss-and-turn over.The Raiders were on the move again late in the game when Jared Cook was called for a false start. On third down, Carr completed a pass to Martavis Bryant for a 3-yard gain that could have been more had it not been for an open-field tackle by Bradley Roby. The Raiders punted and Case Keenum went to work, leading the Broncos into range for the winning field goal.“Obviously, you want to end with the ball in your hands. You want to end taking a knee Womens Bo Jackson Jersey ,” Carr said. “You wanted to waste their timeouts and, ‘Hey, let’s get that first down.’ I still thought we moved the ball decently and took some time off the clock to help the defense and then the last play they just brought a pressure and we had to throw it hot to Martavais (short of the first down). We were one missed tackle away from the game really being over. That’s how close this game is.”The performance of Carr certainly didn’t surprise Broncos pass rusher Von Miller.“We already know how fast he throws the ball,” said Miller, who had the only sack of Carr. “You can never lose faith.”A week ago, Gruden basically called out his QB for passing up throws to receiver Amari Cooper in Oakland’s opener. On Sunday, Carr threw 10 passes in Cooper’s direction and all 10 were hauled in for 116 yards.“He was great. Very accurate in getting us the ball. Made a lot of plays,” Cooper said. “You want to get in a groove, do everything possible to help your team win. Unfortunately, we came up short today. We have to make more plays out there if we want to win the game.”Could there be a method to Raiders madness in waiting until last minute to sign Khalil Mack to extension? As the season creeps ever closer, and Khalil Mack is still not in house, the questions get more and more frequent as to how this situation will resolve itself. If at all.The big question tends to be ‘Will Khalil Mack’s holdout go into the season?’ Most seem to think it will not. But no one really knows for sure. Mack’s leverage lies in the threat that it could.Even if he does report before the season begins, there is the question of whether that would be because he got the extension he wanted or despite not getting it. And if he reports without a new deal, will we then be looking at another holdout next offseason with an increasingly disgruntled player?And as much as the rest of the league is getting worked into a lather about the possibility they could land the best defensive player in the league on a trade, that scenario just seems too far-fetched to actually happen. The reports are that teams have offered as much as a first round pick and a high pick and Reggie McKenzie has turned them down.Ideally, of course, Mack would get his deal before the season, return to the team and remain with the Raiders for what would figure to be the rest of his career.Knowing that is what the Raiders want, it leads to the question of why have they not had negotiations since February and are now seemingly playing chicken with their best player?In the interest of giving the Raiders the benefit of the doubt here, I have a potential scenario.It’s very likely Khalil Mack’s people gave the Raiders their target number back in February. At that time, the Raiders either said they can’t do that, or alternately said they wanted to hold off and play things by ear. Knowing that missing time in the offseason for Mack is not a big deal, they were in no real rush.A few weeks later, Jon Gruden began furiously adding free agents. By the time he was done, there were some 25 new free agent signings. Most of them weren’t making a lot of money, but it all adds up.I have said all offseason that extensions Antonio Brown Raiders Jersey , even big ones, such as Khalil Mack is seeking, don’t necessarily raise the cap number in the season upcoming. That’s because the extension hasn’t kicked in yet, so the team can decide what kind of money they want to count against the cap until then.Look at Aaron Rodgers’ 2018 cap number after having just signed a 4-year extension that averaged $34.5 million per season.The caveat here is we know Reggie McKenzie likes to front load his contracts as much as he can so as to limit kicking the can down the road and/or risking being saddled with dead money should he wish to release a player after a couple seasons. That won’t be so easy with Mack seeking a lot of guaranteed money but I see no reason why he would care about that. Does anyone really doubt that Mack with earn every penny he receives?Even though the Raiders may not have to raise Khalil’s cap number this season, they may want to because it will allow them to lower his cap hits in future seasons. Just as he did with Derek Carr, who will make $25 million this season and then have his salary go down each season after. They were able to do that by adding to his cap number on the final year of his rookie contract, before his extension kicked in.Let’s say the Raiders are looking to bring Mack’s cap number up from its current $13.8 million to right about what he is looking for on his yearly average. Let’s say $22 million. That’s what he was said to be asking this offseason and that’s about what Aaron Donald just received from the Rams.With some of the cuts the Raiders have made recently, they are sitting at $7.1 million in cap space according to Over the cap. The expected trade or release of Mario Edwards Jr would add another $1.3 million to that to put them at about $8.4 million. Add that to the $13.8 million Mack is making now and you have鈥?$22.2 million.There are a lot more cuts coming too, some of which currently count in the top 51, which means even more money available under the cap.Also consider that Khalil Mack doesn’t count against the roster until he reports. Not reporting until, say, two days after the cut down day (Monday) would allow the Raiders to keep a player for one more day after the initial frenzy of players get claimed off waivers, which might make it easier to stash them on the practice squad. In theory, of course. And Mack would be back just in time to start preparing for the season opener.Also, don’t discount the simple concept that deadlines spur actions. Both Mack and Aaron Donald were holding out seeking new deals. Donald got his record deal today on a 6-year, $135 million deal with some $87 million guaranteed.I don’t think they were both staring down each other waiting for the other to make a move first, but you have to figure with Donald’s deal done, it sets the market which could be the trigger that sets Mack’s deal into motion. I don’t think either Mack or Donald were worrying about who signed last and thus leapfrogging the other to be the highest paid defender in the NFL. That’s the kind of stuff agents care about so they can attract new clients. And both agents will be able to make that claim, even if the title only lasts a few days. These players aren’t sitting around obsessing over being the richest in their sport. They’re football players, not the Wolf of Wall Street (I mean, Mychal Kendricks aside). They just want to get market value for their services as two of the top pass rushers in the league. That means surpassing previous highest paid defender, Von Miller. Donald blew Miller’s $19.5 million per season out of the water. Mack’s deal should do similar.This whole scenario has a lot of people sweating near the end, but that doesn’t necessarily mean things won’t come together at the 11th hour. It could. I am not predicting it will. Though my gut tells me one way or another, Khalil Mack will take the field for the season opener. For whatever that’s worth.Follow @LeviDamien