After the Las Vegas Raiders handed Derek Carr a contract extension and traded for Davante Adams last offseason, it looked like he would finish his career with the team. What a difference a year makes. Carr went from being the franchise quarterback to getting benched with two games left.
He has stayed silent on the matter and was excused from the team so that he wouldn’t cause a distraction for Jarrett Stidham, who took over as the starting quarterback. Now that the season is over, Carr has finally released a statement on Twitter.
In the statement, he says goodbye to the fans and wishes he could’ve done it in person. He wanted to make it clear that he gave the franchise everything that he has. He also addresses his previous comments where he said that he’d rather retire than play for a new team. Carr said that is no longer the case as he says he didn’t envision his career with the Raiders going this way. He said that he’s looking forward to going to a new team and working towards a championship.
“That fire burning inside of me to win a championship still rages,” Carr wrote in the statement.
Carr Era Is Officially Over
When head coach Josh McDaniels revealed the decision to bench Carr, he said that there was no finality in the decision and that it was possible that the quarterback could return. Based on Carr’s statement, it’s clear that he won’t be back in Las Vegas next year. Something crazy could always happen but the quarterback will almost certainly be wearing a new uniform next season.
The Raiders will try to trade him but that will prove difficult. Carr’s contract becomes guaranteed on February 15 but the team can’t officially trade him until the new league year starts in March. He also has a no-trade clause in his contract so he can tell the team to either keep or cut him. If he’s cut, the odds of him getting a similar or better contract to the one he has now are very high. Considering the finality of this whole situation, the Raiders aren’t going to risk being on the hook for his contract. There’s a strong chance that Carr will be a free agent in March.
Carr Is Most Prolific Passer in Raiders History
There have been multiple times throughout his career where it looked like Carr was on borrowed time. Every offseason was filled with rumors that the Raiders would replace him. It looked like the rumors were put to bed when McDaniels was hired as he was a fan of the quarterback before taking the job. However, Carr’s performance this season didn’t inspire enough confidence. Regardless, he certainly left his mark on the Raiders.
Carr holds every major passing record for the franchise. His 35,222 passing yards, 217 passing touchdowns and 3,201 completions are all of the most in franchise history. It’s going to take a long time for another quarterback to touch those records. The biggest knock on Carr’s resume is that he never won a playoff game. It’s not fair to place the blame for that fact on him but the Raiders are in a division ripe with quarterback talent. It was likely best for both sides to seek a fresh start.
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Derek Carr Sends Message to Raiders, Sounds off on Career Plans