Good luck trying to figure out what’s going through the head of Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden currently. It seems as though the coach is more than willing to overhaul his entire roster just six games into a second stint with the Silver and Black. Trade rumblings have surrounded various players to this point, but none jump out as much as Derek Carr.
The Raiders gave Carr a massive five-year, $125 million contract extension prior to last season, but after a down 2017 campaign and mediocre start this year, it’s fueled speculation. We know Gruden is a self-proclaimed “quarterback guru,” and in turn, he may want his own signal-caller.
But after the original rumblings came up that the Raiders could be considering a trade to move Carr during the 2019 offseason, CBS Sports revealed Jason La Canfora doubled down. When speaking on the Pick Six Podcast, La Canfora didn’t just follow up on the Raiders possibly moving Carr but even pinpointed a destination.
The New York Giants.
“I think the big final play … sort of how you look at their teardown. There were these incremental moves, and it finally ended at the draft when they move up to get Josh Allen. The final one will be Derek Carr and I don’t think it will be close to the draft, I think it will be at the combine,” La Canfora continued. “And ultimately what’s the point of keeping Derek Carr? And if you have all this draft capital and you get a one plus something else for Derek Carr, which I think he can — I’ll call it right now, Derek Carr to the New York Giants. At the combine.”
So not only does he think the Raiders trade Carr to the Giants but believes it happens at the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine. We’re now at the stage of breaking down timelines for when the team trades a player who was an MVP candidate two years ago.
The Derek Carr-Giants Connection
To be fair, if the Raiders were going to trade Carr, the Giants would make some level of sense. La Canfora continued his explanation on the topic, which essentially breaks down the fact that with Odell Beckham Jr. and Saquon Barkley, the team doesn’t want to rebuild.
“That makes all the sense in the world to me. The Giants don’t really want to rebuild. And they don’t really want to admit they screwed up by not taking a quarterback, right?” La Canfora said. “So they trade what will be a fairly high [first-round pick] or maybe they do it for a future [first-round pick] if this one looks like it’s going to be top two or three. I think that’s what they do and they plug him right in there with Barkley, Odell and Shephard and [Evan Engram] and they try to keep that thing going.”
All of this is fair, but what exactly the Giants would give up is unknown. I’m not sure the Giants would be willing to give up as much as most think for this large of a contract. If Carr’s struggles continue, it’ll only hurt his trade value. Expecting a future first-round pick is possible, but a selection which could be top-five for the Giants? No chance.
Time will tell, but there’s still no concrete reason to think that the Raiders will move their quarterback. And assuming they do, is Gruden then set to take on a rookie quarterback from the 2019 draft class? That’s another loaded question.
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Raiders’ Derek Carr Trade Rumors: Could QB Head to the NFC?