With the Las Vegas Raiders starting fresh with a new general manager plus head coach, some have questioned whether starting quarterback Derek Carr could be the next to go. Despite coach Josh McDaniels throwing his support behind the three-time Pro Bowl QB, that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from spinning, generating more wacky ideas.
As NFL teams prepare for the offseason, many organizations are in search of a franchise quarterback, so it’s only natural that the Raiders would receive a few calls inquiring about Carr’s availability. Especially since he’s entering the final year of his contract.
According to Vincent Bonsignore, the Raiders have taken phone calls from several teams hoping to trade for Carr. As he points out, this is likely to remain the case until the Raiders commit to Carr for a few more seasons, via a contract extension.
Why Derek Carr trade interest likely goes nowhere
Yet, those inquiries may not go anywhere. The Raiders could just as well extend Derek Carr at some point over the next few weeks, locking in their starting quarterback for at least another season.
There’s no doubt Carr would immediately become one of the best QBs available, if the Raiders are open to parting ways with him, and several teams would have great interest.
We’ve already heard about the Washington Commanders leaving no stone unturned in their pursuit of a better QB under center, even calling about Russell Wilson. Like the Carr talks, the Seahawks weren’t interested, to no surprise.
It appears as though teams interested in trading for Carr may need to look elsewhere. The Raiders don’t seem interested in completely starting over, they feel they can compete in the short term. Trading Carr likely hurts their chances at being competitive in the 2022-23 season.
Taking this approach gives McDaniels the chance to see if he can get even more production out of the eight-year vet. With Carr coming off one of his best seasons yet, it makes sense to stand pat until they know what they have with the Carr/McDaniels pairing.
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