Getty Quarterback Derek Carr of the Las Vegas Raiders.
By now you get the gist. The New York Giants continue to publicly back Daniel Jones as their future under center — as they should. However, with expected turnover in the front office this offseason and five picks in the first three rounds of April’s NFL draft, speculation of the Giants moving off Jones will only grow louder over the next handful of months — especially if the rumors pertaining to Russell Wilson’s interest in moving to the Northeast hold any weight.
While acquiring Wilson would be a home run get for the G-Men in theory, New York would need to sell the farm in order to acquire him. That means saying goodbye to two projected top-six picks in the 2022 draft — at the very least. The team could, of course, opt to hold on to those picks and instead use one of them to select a signal-caller. Although, this year’s quarterback class is widely considered a step back from years past, with no unanimous blue-chip prospects at the position.
That leads us to option three; don’t wager the future for Wilson, use the multiple first-round picks to beef up other areas of the roster and swap a mid-round selection for a proven commodity under center. Should the Giants opt for this route, USA Today’s Doug Rush has named a handful of potential trade options, headlined by Las Vegas Raiders three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Derek Carr.
“Next Giants QB possible options: trading for Russell Wilson is out, and the next GM doesn’t want Daniel Jones. So other trade options, using one of the two 3rd rounders in the draft: Derek Carr, Kirk Cousins, Jimmy Garoppolo, Drew Lock. Why them? Only one year left on their deals,” Rush tweeted.
The Giants Were Previously Linked to Carr
Carr’s name is particularly interesting for numerous reasons. For starters, prior to the Giants selecting Jones back in 2018, many predicted Carr to be the heir apparent to Eli Manning in New York.
“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,” CBS Sports insider Jason La Canfora said in October of 2018. “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.”
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Carr Done in Sin City?
After a 3-0 start to 2021, the Raiders have fizzled out down the stretch, leaving Carr’s future in Las Vegas somewhat uncertain. According to CBS Sports Radio on December 15, the Raiders have mulled the idea of benching Carr for backup Marcus Mariota, via Steve Tannen.
Per CBS Sports Radio just now, Raiders mulling giving Carr a seat and giving Mariota an extended look. Carr has no dead cap money hit next season. It’s the back end of his deal.
Carr, 30, will have one more year remaining on his contract following the conclusion of this season. He’s set to earn a base salary of approximately 19.8 million in 2022 and the Raiders will be tasked with the decision to either hand him another contract in excess of $100 million or let him walk and allow their next head coach to pick “his guy.”
The brother of former Giants backup David Carr, Derek has started the past eight seasons for the Raiders. His production over that span has been uber impressive, owning the 12th-best touchdown-to-interception ratio (2.30) and the 14th-best completion percentage (64.9) in league history. However, his play has more times than not failed to equate to wins, with him making just one postseason appearance and owning a record of 54-70 as a starter.
Of course, similar to Jones’ situation in New York, it would be wrong to point the finger solely at Carr considering the turmoil and lackluster talent surrounding him. However, the question for the Giants is, can Carr take the supporting cast that Jones has failed to elevate in recent years and make them competitive? If they believe so, then theoretically, swinging a deal should be in the cards — especially at the price Rush floated.