Getty Derek Carr of the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Las Vegas Raiders have finally broken Derek Carr. The quarterback has had just two winning seasons in nine years with the team. He’s consistently done his best to keep his composure amid chaos and controversy. Sunday’s 25-20 loss to the Indianapolis Colts may have been the final straw for Carr.
He was visibly upset after the game and even broke down in tears in his postgame press conference. It was a tough scene to watch and it’s clear that Carr cares. However, that care hasn’t led to many wins. Unless the Raiders go on a huge win streak the rest of the season, there will be a fall guy or two for this disaster of a season.
Carr is a strong candidate to be that fall guy. If the season ended today, the Raiders would have the No. 2 overall pick in the draft. That would put them in line to add one of the top quarterback prospects. Right now, that appears to be Alabama’s Bryce Young and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud. Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report listed the Raiders as a team that could be “desperate” to land one of the two young quarterback prospects:
They’d have to strongly consider drafting Stroud or Young if either fell to them. Carr should hold enough trade value to bring back a solid return from another quarterback-desperate team.
Without a major second-half turnaround, the Raiders are in need of major change. They aren’t likely to replace head coach Josh McDaniels after only one season.
Raiders Not Thinking of Making QB Change Yet
While Sobleski is just speculating that the Raiders will be in one of the top quarterbacks in the draft, there was a report from Michael Balko that suggested the team is ready to move on from Carr and is specifically targeting Stroud. However, that report appears to be inaccurate. NFL insider Benjamin Allbright spoke to a Raiders source and was told that the team isn’t even thinking about the draft right now.
Per Raiders source (and I direct quote):
“Who the f@$# Is Michael Balko, and no we haven’t made any decision to move on from Carr or who we’re selecting in the draft. We’re still months from stacking our board.”
Allbright has proven to have sources within the Raiders in the past while Balko has not. Following another embarrassing loss, the team might now actually start thinking about their quarterback situation but it’s highly unlikely they’ve come close to making a decision yet.
Fresh Start Might Be Best for Carr
For years, Carr has preached that he only ever wants to play for the Raiders. His sports idol is former Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, who only ever played for one team. Loyalty is highly important to Carr but that hasn’t gotten him anywhere. Recently, we saw Matthew Stafford leave the Detroit Lions and go to the Los Angeles Rams where he won a Super Bowl.
Perhaps Carr will look at that and change his mind. He has a no-trade clause in his contract but it could be worth waiving if he can go to a team like the New York Jets or New Orleans Saints. Those are just a couple of the teams that appear to be a quarterback away from being contenders. There could also be other teams that emerge. Maybe Tom Brady leaves the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason and they need a quarterback. Aaron Rodgers could retire and leave the Green Bay Packers job open. There could certainly be appealing options for Carr if he decides he wants a fresh start.