The question of the day is this: Where will Derek Carr go next?
The long-time Las Vegas Raiders starting quarterback penned a goodbye letter to the organization on Thursday morning, and his time there is officially done for the franchise that drafted him back in 2014.
Carr fell out of favor in Sin City and the Raiders started Jarrett Stidham for the final two games of the season, marking the end of Carr’s run with the team.
A ton of teams should be interested in Carr, with the Washington Commanders, New York Jets, and Indianapolis Colts as a few obvious suitors.
However, he has a $40 million contract, which might make it difficult for teams to trade for him.
There is a timeline, according to one report.
The #Raiders will cut QB Derek Carr if they can't find a trade partner by Feb. 15, according to @VicTafur pic.twitter.com/D83Uksxk9I
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 12, 2023
According to Vic Tafur of The Athletic, the Raiders will cut Derek Carr by February 15 if they can’t find a trade partner.
Carr’s contract numbers are staggering, and it doesn’t help that Carr has a no-trade clause, meaning he will have to waive it to get traded to a team.
If a team were to trade for Derek Carr, here is what it would owe him on his current deal:
2023: $32.9M base salary + $100K workout bonus = $33M cap hit
2024: $41.9M base salary + $100K workout bonus = $42M cap hit
2025: $41.2M base salary + $100K workout bonus = $41.3M cap hit— Field Yates (@FieldYates) January 12, 2023
If nobody wants to bite the bullet on that contract, the Raiders will cut him, and he will enter free agency.
The downside for Carr is obvious: Nobody is going to pay that much money for a QB on the wrong side of 30 who just threw 14 interceptions in back-to-back seasons.
But, a trade might work, especially if the Raiders decide to eat some of the money, and Carr will likely approve a trade to any team where he has a shot to be the starting quarterback.
The drama begins (or continues) in Las Vegas.
NEXT: NFL World Reacts To The Derek Carr News