By Daniel Kugler
The Las Vegas Raiders pulled the ripcord after losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers and booted out quarterback Derek Carr with immediate effect. Backup Jarrett Stidham will lead the team for the remainder of the season.
What’s more, Carr won’t even be on the roster anymore. According to ProFootballTalk, Chase Garbers will be the backup.
Head coach Josh McDaniels announced this decision personally, underlining that the franchise is anything but satisfied with the way the season has gone and obviously sees a large part of the blame for the misery on their quarterback.
Las Vegas Raiders: Derek Carr disappoints across the board
With a current record of 6-9, the franchise again misses the playoffs.
The quarterback seemed completely out of character throughout the season and couldn’t even begin to meet the high expectations.
only 60.8 percent of his passports arrived. The 31-year-old put on the second worst value in his career, only the value in his debut season in the NFL was worse.
And with 14 interceptions, Carr also equalized his negative value from the previous season, only three of which he afforded against the Steelers.
The departure from their starting quarterback two games before the end of the regular season comes as no longer a surprise a few months after hopeful dreams of a big hit in Las Vegas.
Although everything looked so good before the season.
Las Vegas Raiders: Dream duo Carr and Adams failed
Flashback to mid-March this year. Amid much media turmoil, the Raiders land an absolute coup and trade for star receiver Davante Adams from the Green Bay Packers.
A longtime friend of quarterback Carr, who couldn’t believe his happiness at being reunited with his college buddy from Fresno State.
It should be the starting signal for a golden future in the Mecca of gambling – the Raiders finally rise to a Contender.
A good nine months later, the project to build a Super Bowl winner around the Carr-Adams duo has not only developed differently than expected, but can also be seen as a miserable failure.
With the demotion of the quarterback, McDaniels himself declared the venture in Vegas as a failure at his first station as head coach in the NFL.
The coach’s statements speak volumes, Carr seems to have no future with the Raiders.
Las Vegas Raiders and Derek Carr before split
It all looks like this is the beginning of the end for Carr at the team that drafted him 36th in the second round in 2014.
After nine seasons for the Raiders, there are increasing signs that the 31-year-old will no longer be part of the franchise in the coming season, despite valid contracts until after the 2025 season.
In April of this year, Carr signed a three-year, $121.5 million contract extension. According to “Spotrac”, however, the franchise left a back door open in order to be able to release the player early after the current season for a comparatively very low 5.625 million dollars at Dead Cap.
Everything looks like a contract termination before the beginning of February, because after that it would be really expensive for the franchise. According to NFL expert Dov Kleiman, Carr’s contract for the coming season is fully guaranteed by the end of January and is worth a whopping $ 40.4 million.
The franchise will want to prevent this case with a probability bordering on certainty.
Las Vegas Raiders: Who Will Be Carr’s Successor?
Giving the inexperienced Stidham a chance to prove himself at the end of the season makes perfect sense.
With a view to the future and the likely separation from Carr, however, it can be assumed that the Raiders will now be looking for an external solution at the quarterback position.
The upcoming Free Agency is solidly positioned at the top. At the top is certainly the name of veteran Tom Brady, who can test the open market again after two years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The GOAT in Vegas? There was already something in the bush in the past, wasn’t there?
In addition, the personal details of Daniel Jones in terms of age and prospects could be interesting for those responsible for the franchise, whose contract option for an extension was rejected by the New York Giants.
And the name Jimmy Garoppolo should also be discussed with the team from Nevada. The 31-year-old will also become a free agent in February and knows Coach McDaniels very well from their time together in New England.
It will also be exciting to see whether McDaniels will still hold the reins in the coming season. This position will also be put to the test.
But first looking at the field, those responsible may want to put the fate of the franchise in the hands of a much younger quarterback.
Las Vegas Raiders: Will Carr’s successor be in the draft?
The 2023 draft will also have some hot issues again. Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio States’ CJ Strout, Kentucky’s Will Levis and Florida’s Anthony Richardson are all considered likely candidates.
The Raiders coaching staff will certainly be turning the draft class completely inside out over the coming weeks and months in order to spot the possible hope for the future.
It remains to be seen who will ultimately lead the Raiders’ fortunes on the field and follow Carr.
At least there is no time pressure, apart from with a view to Carr’s contract, when the franchise is being realigned.
And when the decision is finally made, Carr’s bosom friend Adams will have calmed down too.
Because one thing is clear: the show in Vegas must always go on.