Just like the Las Vegas Raiders are expected to pursue a new starting quarterback with the expectation that Derek Carr has started his last game for the Silver and Black, the Carolina Panthers are also looking to improve at QB.
Could Carr end up traveling to Carolina, where he could hit the ground running with coach Frank Reich? While the quarterback already spent over a day visiting the New Orleans Saints, nothing has been agreed to thus far.
Yet, the Raiders may only have until Feb. 15 to make a decision on Carr, who has a $40 contract guarantee trigger, and he’s been unwilling to work with the team to extend the date, buying more time.
This means if the Raiders plan to trade Carr as opposed to cutting him loose from the three years, $116 million remaining on his contract, their time is extremely limited. While the Saints’ ties to Carr have been well-documented, there’s now another NFC South team that could get involved.
Related: NFL QB Rankings: See where Derek Carr ranks
Carolina Panthers will look into price of adding Derek Carr
According to Joe Person of The Athletic, the Panthers will “monitor the Derek Carr situation” this offseason. Yet, Panthers fans may not want to get their hopes up too much, as the NFL insider indicates this may be no different than general manager Scott Fitterer’s typical approach to being “in on every deal”, or at least inquiring about the potential cost.
In other words, Person seems to indicate that unless the cost to add Carr is lower than anticipated, the Panthers may not win the sweepstakes for the Pro Bowl QB. The Panthers have just 2022 third-round pick Matt Corral, plus P.J. Walker, who is set to become a restricted free agent on their current QB depth chart.
Carr has a $34.8 million cap hit in 2023, but teams like the Panthers may simply opt to wait out the situation and try and see if the Raiders will be forced into releasing the QB instead, with teams well aware of his guaranteed contract trigger date. If so, Carr could then negotiate with any team he wishes instead of a team having to fork over draft capital plus cover the contract he signed with the Raiders.
We’ll see who wins this high-stakes game of poker in the next few days, with Carr’s Feb. 15 guarantee date looming.
Related: Las Vegas Raiders: Why Derek Carr’s visit with Saints can generate more trade buzz