With Las Vegas Raiders trade rumors heating up, it’s only natural that tons of scenarios are being thrown out. In case you didn’t hear, the Carolina Panthers have hired Frank Reich as their next head coach. As a Raiders fan, this should catch your eye for one big reason. The former Indianapolis Colts coach has tried to land Derek Carr on more than one occasion. Reich might finally get his man in Carolina.
Frank Reich and Derek Carr in Carolina? Anything can happen…
To say Reich is a fan of Carr would be putting it mildly. The much-heralded “quarterback whisperer” tried to acquire Carr a multitude of times. By our account, Reich and the Colts tried or at least inquired about Carr a total of three times: in 2019, 2020, and 2021. While the story of the Colts offering two first-round picks for Carr is questionable, the team did try under Reich. Now that he’s landed with the Panthers, the conversation naturally shifts to whether Carolina will come knocking. As it stands, the Panthers are a solid destination, as they’ll have an offensive-minded coach and one of the wealthiest owners who isn’t afraid to spend. The roster itself has some nice offensive weapons in D.J. Moore, Terrence Marshall Jr., and D’Onta Foreman.
Interestingly enough, Frank Reich isn’t the only coach with connections to Derek Carr that could be moving places. The Colts recently interviewed former Raiders interim head coach Rich Bisaccia. As you can imagine, conspiracy theories were abound given how highly Carr thought of Bisaccia during their time together. In fact, it was reported that Bisaccia truly was one of Carr’s favorite coaches he played for, and he played under a lot of them.
We’ll know soon enough what the Panthers are planning. They currently have the ninth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. That puts them out of reach of the top three, maybe four, quarterback prospects. Maybe they trade up. Regardless, the market for Carr could be growing as the league’s coaching vacancies are filled. Expect Raiders trade rumors to continue popping up in the coming weeks.
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