What will the Las Vegas Raiders do now that Derek Carr has been released by the only NFL franchise the veteran quarterback has ever known?
The team, which has used Carr as its main starter since he won the position as a rookie in training camp in 2014, hasn’t lately navigated these waters. Consider: Since then, Carr has missed two regular-season contests and one postseason contest due to injury. Carr was replaced in the 2016 season finale by Matt McGloin after suffering a fractured right ankle, and by EJ Manuel in Week 5 of the 2017 campaign after suffering broken bones in his back. And while Carr was recuperating, Connor Cook started the 2016 wild-card round playoff game in Houston.
due to surgery. Therefore, even if the Raiders are in choppy waters, their compass should point in one of two directions: either sign Moby Dick, a costly potential Hall of Famer who will carry his own baggage, or choose a safe route and sign someone who is familiar with the system while looking towards the future.
Tom Brady was a potential Moby Dick since he was set to become a free agent. He chose to retire, which made the Raiders change course.
Therefore, Aaron Rodgers is currently the giant whale who swam away in 2005 when the Raiders selected CB Fabian Washington with the 23rd overall pick, one pick before Rodgers, who chose to sign with the Green Bay Packers. Purchasing Rodgers, who will allegedly also be wanted by the New York Jets, which would be expensive. not just in terms of established players or draught money. According to multiple sources, Green Bay could demand up to a first-round pick and a conditional third-round pick with a second-round potential. At the trade deadline this past season, tight end Darren Waller was allegedly a target for the Packers.
And it only takes into consideration the transaction itself, not Rodgers’ pay or cap numbers. According to ESPN Packers writer Rob Demovsky, Rodgers signed a three-year, $150 million agreement last March that featured two voidable years, in 2025 and 2026, and a $58.3 million option bonus for 2023 that is fully guaranteed. The Packers have until March 15, 2023, the start of the league year, and the day before their opening game of the season to exercise the option.
The timing of the option is crucial because Green Bay will surely want the team that acquires him to pay it because the option makes up the majority of Rodgers’ salary, which is $59.515 million for this year. Also, Rodgers has a $49 non-guaranteed bonus.
payable in 2024 is million.
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According to research by ESPN Stats & Information, Rodgers now has cap figures of more than $31.6 million for 2023 and $40.7 million for 2024. Even for a four-time MVP, that’s a steep price to pay, let alone for a player who will turn 40 before the conclusion of the next season and is coming off a poor season; his 39.3 total QBR was a career low as a starter, as were his 3,695 passing yards for the entire year.
You have to question if they would click given that Rodgers is as obstinate as he is talented and has no background playing in Raiders coach Josh McDaniels’ offence.Rodgers, Waller, and All-Pro running back Josh Jacobs, who is also a pending free agency after the Raiders turned down his fifth-year option last offseason, have all expressed interest in playing in Las Vegas.
Nevertheless, Rodgers would be reunited with All-Pro wideout Davante Adams, who has
In a division that includes the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, another playoff team with a young franchise quarterback in the Los Angeles Chargers, and a Super Bowl-winning coach in the Denver Broncos, it’s a lot of money to spend on what might only be a two-year contract. Many would argue that the Raiders could have used that money more wisely by strengthening the defence and the offensive line while still preserving up to 11 draught picks, including the No. 7 pick.
That would entail pursuing a free agency quarterback who is cheaper than Rodgers — there would be no need to transfer any assets in doing so — perhaps someone who has experience is already accustomed to McDaniels’ methodology.
Many people might consider Jimmy Garoppolo to be a lateral move from Carr, but he developed in McDaniels’ offence with the New England Patriots (even though he last participated in it in 2016), and, well, he wins. Carr’s 63-79 record pales in comparison to Garoppolo’s 40-17 mark as a starter. Durability would be the major problem, but Garoppolo shouldn’t be paid the $40.4 million the Raiders saved by letting Carr go because quarterback has missed 28 games over the past three seasons. The O-line and defence may then be attacked by Las Vegas, who could also re-sign Jacobs.
After Carr was benched and left, backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham made his NFL debut and faced off against the league’s best defence.
Derek Carr
the club, losing to the San Francisco 49ers 37-34 in overtime after passing for 365 yards and three touchdowns. Then he gave the eventual Super Bowl winner Chiefs a scare early on.
Stidham offered a template, if nothing else, and appeared more at ease in McDaniels’ system in two starts than Carr did in fifteen. However, Stidham, who is also pursuing free agency, performed admirably, particularly in the Raiders locker room. There would be no learning curve because he is already as familiar with the offence as he is with his teammates, and he would cost a fraction of what Rodgers or Garoppolo would.
So here is the wild card: With that seventh overall choice, maybe as many as eleven Will the Raiders fall head over heels for any of the top three QB prospects, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Alabama’s Bryce Young, or Kentucky’s Will Levis, enough to convince them to trade up and choose one of them with their total selections? Tim Tebow was chosen in place of an experienced veteran, and McDaniels’ final head-coaching gig in Denver did not go well. Or do they choose the bridge strategy, anticipating the arrival of a more competitive and well-regarded QB class in 2024?
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