The fullback position has fallen out of favor in the NFL in recent years Brandon LaFell Jersey , as no teams use a fullback in the base offense and some don’t even have a fullback on the roster at all. But Raiders coach Jon Gruden thinks he found a gem of a fullback this year.That’s undrafted rookie Alec Ingold, who arrived out of Wisconsin in May as a long shot to make the roster, but has been active for all five games. Gruden says he loves what he’s seeing from Ingold, who had a big game as a lead blocker in Sunday’s win over the Bears and has picked up a first down on both of his carries this season.“You watch the first touchdown, he’s knocking a guy down, off his feet,” Gruden said. “On the goal line play at the end of the game, he leaves his feet, launches and makes a great play. We’ve asked him to run the ball in short yardage, fourth-and-1 in Indy, third-and-1 the other night, he’s gotten the first down. He’s playing on special teams. I love that guy. I don’t want him to hear me say that, but I really deep down like that guy a lot. He’s what the position is all about.”Ingold has played 22 percent of the Raiders’ offensive snaps and 48 percent of their special teams snaps, so although he’s far from an every-down player, he’s making a significant contribution. He’s one of several new additions who are turning the Raiders into the kind of team Gruden wants, and a better team than anyone was expecting. Two years ago, the Raiders reversed nearly 15 seasons of futility by making it to the playoffs with a nucleus of young talent consisting of a first-round pick in 2014 (Khalil Mack) and 2015 (Amari Cooper). They’re now both gone, six games into Jon Gruden’s first season with the team.The decision to dump both players will serve only to fuel speculation that 2014 second-round pick Derek Carr could be next.The question becomes whether Carr would be cut or traded in 2019. (A trade over the next eight days would be stunning, even by the standard Gruden has established in his brief time back in Oakland.) As previously explained Derek Carrier Jersey , Carr could be cut before the third day of the 2019 waiver period (i.e., the third day after the next Super Bowl) with no further obligation to Carr and a 2019 cap charge of $7.5 million.After the third day of the waiver period, Carr’s $19.9 million salary for 2019 becomes fully guaranteed. But if another team covets Carr sufficiently to absorb that commitment and to give the Raiders value, the Raiders and another team could reach a technically-unenforceable Alex Smith-style trade, announcing the tentative deal during the week before the Super Bowl (for example), holding Carr until the new league year begins in March, and sending his $19.9 million to a new team.With 2020-22 salaries of聽$18.9 million, $19.525 million, and聽$19.777519 million, respectively (and annual workout bonuses of $100,000), a new team would be inheriting a four-year, $78.5 million. That’s an average of $19.6 million per year, which equates to roughly 58.5 percent of the new high-water mark for the quarterback market set earlier this year by Aaron Rodgers.Of course, that would leave the Raiders without a quarterback. Despite the ongoing flood from college football of competent young quarterbacks, Gruden likely would want a Rich Gannon-style veteran, who would be entrusted with an offense that (as Chris Simms always says) Gruden regards as a Ferrari — and that Gruden wants no one to scratch.The ultimate question is whether Gruden will continue to scratch an itch that has seen dramatic turnover with the Raiders, to the point where the would-be franchise quarterback potentially becomes the franchise’s next former key young player.