By all accounts, quarterback Derek Carr’s time with the Las Vegas Raiders is over. The Raiders benched Carr for the last two games of the season and plan on either trading or releasing Carr outright, which must be done by February 15 when Carr’s contract for 2023 becomes guaranteed for $32.9 million.
The team would likely prefer to trade Carr as they would be able to get some sort of compensation back in a deal rather than just lose him outright. Additionally, Carr has reportedly begun doing some research on potential teams he could be moved to. Carr has a no-trade clause in his contract so he has to approve any deal, giving him at least some semblance of power.
But the likelihood of a trade seems to be decreasing as that deadline gets closer and according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, the Raiders have not yet granted Carr and his camp permission to seek a trade:
My understanding as of right now is the Raiders have not granted Carr’s camp the ability to seek a trade. 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.
It is worth noting that the Senior Bowl is taking place this week and that is a time when a lot of conversations happen between teams, opening up the possibilities for potential deals. Every team has representatives in Mobile for the Senior Bowl so initial talks could spark between the Raiders and potentially interested suitors.
But as Breer noted, it will not be easy to deal Carr away within the next two weeks and other teams know that so it would likely be better to simply wait it out and force the Raiders to release him. That is also the cheaper option as Carr is unlikely to approach the amount of money he would receive should that contract become guaranteed.
With Tom Brady announcing his retirement, the reported top option for the Raiders is now off the table. As it stands the Raiders quarterback saga will continue on and will be one of the most watched positions of the NFL offseason.
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