When the Las Vegas Raiders announced that they would be benching Derek Carr for the final two games of the season, it was speculated by many that Carr’s time with the franchise was likely set to come to an end.
Regardless of how much of the team’s struggles this season could be attributed to him, the fact remains that Carr’s contract extension is an expensive one, and the Raiders have the ability to get out of it this offseason. But the Raiders will apparently try to get something back for him, at least.
According to Ian Rapaport of NFL Network, the Raiders are expected to explore trade options for Carr this offseason, and it is overwhelmingly likely that he has played his last game for the silver and black:
Las Vegas is expected to explore trade options for quarterback Derek Carr, sources say. The veteran who has started nearly every regular-season game for the Raiders since the 2014 season is almost certainly headed to a new team for 2023.
The Raiders looking to make a deal and get anything back for Carr makes sense, but it also seems highly unlikely that a team would be willing to trade for Carr with the amount of money he is set to make. Also making things difficult is the fact that Carr has a no-trade clause on his contract and would, thus, have to also agree to any deal that could be made.
The most likely outcome remains Carr being released by the Raiders and going into free agency with other big names such as Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo. The Raiders will only be on the hook for $5.6 million should they release him before February 15 as opposed to $33 million should they keep him on. The problem for the Raiders in regards to a trade is that the rest of the league knows this too is likely to force the Raiders’ hand and make them cut Carr as opposed to bailing them out with a trade.
Assuming the Raiders do move on from Carr in one way or another, there are multiple options for the team to explore in finding their quarterback for next season. Perhaps Jarrett Stidham will show enough
