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It’s just a matter of time before Derek Carr is off of the Las Vegas Raiders roster. He’ll either be traded or cut by February 15. The Raiders would obviously like to trade him but that’s proving difficult thanks to the no-trade clause they put in his contract.
Carr can stand pat and tell the Raiders to release him, which is the most likely outcome. At this point, it appears that the team is preparing for that to happen. According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, Las Vegas isn’t even allowing Carr to speak with other teams yet.
“My understanding as of right now is the Raiders have not granted Carr’s camp the ability to seek a trade,” Breer wrote. “And even though there are the aforementioned teams out there with needs, dealing him before the Feb. 15 deadline—when his $32.9 million base for next year and $7.5 million of his 2024 money vests as fully guaranteed—won’t be easy. And he absolutely won’t be on the Raiders’ roster past that date, so there is the idea that teams that are interested in him should just wait for Las Vegas to cut him.”
Typically players who are openly on the trade block are granted permission to speak with other teams. It’s notable that the Raiders haven’t allowed Carr to with the deadline coming up.
Why Wouldn’t Raiders Give Carr Permission?
As unlikely as it is that the Raiders are able to trade Carr, it seems odd that they wouldn’t at least do what they can to make it happen. If the quarterback didn’t have a no-trade clause, there’s no reason to let him talk to other teams but he has to agree to wherever they want to trade him. Vic Tafur of The Athletic shed some light on why the Raiders aren’t allowing him to speak to other teams.
“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,” Tafur wrote. “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.”
It also appears that Carr hasn’t done much to help the Raiders figure out the process.
“Younger has not given the Raiders a list of teams that he would be open to a trade to, the sources said, for the simple reason that it’s wide open,” Tafur wrote. “Several teams have still not hired a coach or offensive coordinator.”
There’s still a chance Carr gets traded but it appears things are heading toward the quarterback getting cut.
Carr Makes the Pro Bowl
Carr didn’t have his best season in 2022 but he was still a top-15 quarterback. He’s been to the Pro Bowl three times but hasn’t made it since 2017. With a rash of quarterbacks not wanting to play this year, Carr revealed that he’s been invited to participate and will be showing up.
The Pro Bowl Games are taking place in Las Vegas so Carr will be able to play in front of a Raiders home crowd one more time before leaving. He wasn’t able to finish out the season but he’s getting a final chance to say goodbye.
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