Derek Carr claims he ignores speculation that he’s not in the Raiders’ future plans.
Carr told The Athletic’s Tashan Reed, “I’ve always tried my best to — as I’ve gotten older in my career — (to) eliminate all of those things.”
While Carr tries to dispel future concerns, some cite why the Raiders could be compelled to release him.
ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez wrote Carr is a “wild card” because Las Vegas has a three-day window after the Super Bowl to release the quarterback and incur a small $5.6 million cap hit, per Spotrac.
Carr is the franchise’s all-time leader in touchdown passes (213), but he has a losing starting record (62-78) and zero playoff wins, leading to the dreaded “non-elite quarterback” label.
“He’s close. But there are 10 quarterbacks that are at least objectively better than Carr,” wrote Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.
Mike Sando of The Athletic placed two Tier 1 quarterbacks within the Raiders’ division, Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs) and Justin Herbert (Chargers). Their emergence and harsh Carr sentiments could fuel Las Vegas’ desire to move on.
A talented quarterback class in the 2023 NFL Draft may move the Raiders in a new direction.
ESPN’s draft expert Todd McShay has a first-round grade on three passers, C.J. Stroud (Ohio State), Bryce Young (Alabama) and Will Levis (Kentucky). Per McShay’s mock draft, each will go in the top 10.
Although Las Vegas currently has the eighth pick, per Tankathon, it could move up. Perhaps Seattle (No. 2) and Detroit (No. 4) would be willing to move down in a trade.
Per NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, the Lions believe Jared Goff is their future. And another NFL insider, Jordan Schultz, reports the Seahawks would like to extend Geno Smith to a long-term deal.
The Raiders’ final decision is unclear, but Carr’s future is clearly murky since Las Vegas has multiple options on the table.
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