The Las Vegas Raiders are going to trade longtime quarterback Derek Carr at some point soon. That became reality when head coach Josh McDaniels benched him late during a disastrous 2022 season for the team. Once Carr opted to leave the team, the writing was on the wall.
Unfortunately, drama continues to take hold behind the scenes in Sin City. Carr and his camp are not happy about how things materialized this past season. It’s been noted that he’s not looking to do Vegas’ brass any favors.
It’s in this that Albert Breer from Sports Illustrated is reporting that the Raiders have not yet given Carr permission to seek out trade partners.
This is notable in that there’s a Feb. 15 deadline in which Carr’s $32.9 million base for next season and $7.5 million of his salary for 2024 becomes fully guaranteed. These figures are one of the primary reasons Vegas benched Carr in the first place. After all, they were guaranteed for injury only.
- Derek Carr stats (career): 65% completion, 35,222 yards, 217 TD, 99 INT, 91.8 QB rating
Despite a down 2022 season by his standards, Carr is going to have a strong market. The likes of the New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts, Washington Commanders, Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints have already been linked to him.
Related: NFL insider identifies 3 teams expected to pursue Derek Carr trade
Drama taking center stage between Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders
Vic Tafur of The Athletic made a pretty solid point in regards to the situation in Las Vegas. Simply put, there’s concern from the Raiders’ brass that Carr’s agent is working behind the scenes to work out a free-agent deal for the quarterback should he actually be released.
“The Raiders might be concerned that Tim Younger, Carr’s agent, would be working out a free-agent deal with the new team rather than helping with trade terms. But Younger can do that on Feb. 16, well ahead of the other quarterbacks in the league hitting the free-agent market. Younger would need to talk to the new team about Carr’s contract — either restructuring the current one or carving out a new one — either way.”
Report on Derek Carr situation with the Raiders
Typically, teams find a way to work with longtime quarterbacks to find an ideal landing spot. We saw that when the San Francisco 49ers traded Alex Smith to the Kansas City Chiefs back in 2013.
More recently, that was the case with the Detroit Lions sending Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams ahead of the 2021 season and the Matt Ryan trade from the Atlanta Falcons to the Indianapolis Colts last offseason.
Given what Carr has meant for the Raiders’ organization and what he’s dealt with during his career, the hope here is that they follow suit. Right now, it’s not looking too great.