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Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was benched in favor of former Auburn standout Jarrett Stidham, according to a Wednesday tweet from ESPN Senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter, setting Raiders twitter ablaze with thoughts of where Carr would go from there.
Raiders are benching Derek Carr and turning to Jarrett Stidham as their new starting QB.
Carr has thrown a league-leading 14 interceptions— including three Saturday night during a 13-10 loss to the Steelers.
Stidham has thrown only 61 passes and never has started an NFL game. pic.twitter.com/IJa1LfYGXT
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 28, 2022
NFL on CBS lead insider Jonathan Jones and Athletic Raiders beat writer Tashan Reed said Raiders fans may have witnessed Derek Carr's last snaps with Las Vegas. Carr's 2023 and $7.5 million of his 2024 salary become guaranteed by Feb. 15, or three days after the Super Bowl, according to multiple sources.
Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels says they're benching QB Derek Carr and going with Jarrett Stidham over the next two weeks. It's very possible Carr has played his last snap with the Raiders considering his contract situation for 2023.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) December 28, 2022
McDaniels said benching Carr isn't indicative of a decision about his future, but we can be real.
The #Raiders wouldn't do this if they were going to bring Carr back next year. His career in the Silver and Black is almost certainly over.
— Tashan Reed (@tashanreed) December 28, 2022
$40.4M of Derek Carr's salary is set to guarantee 3 days after the Super Bowl. The Raiders will need to find a trade partner and work out a deal by then (that would be official a month later) or cut Carr before those guarantees trigger. Carr could restructure there, tho unlikely.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) December 28, 2022
The Raiders may be more willing to pay the $5.63 million in dead cap on Derek Carr's contract than pay the $32.9 million in guaranteed salary for 2023, added Reed.
If Carr would've suffered a major injury this season, then his $32.9M salary in 2023 and $7.5M of his 2024 salary would've become guaranteed. Now, it's guaranteed that they'll incur just a $5.625M dead cap hit if they move on. https://t.co/8xMIQvqEtP
— Tashan Reed (@tashanreed) December 28, 2022
Fansided Editor Matt Conner said the benching paved the way for the eighth starting Indianapolis Colts quarterback in six years. The Colts rolled out five starting quarterbacks over the past five years who played 12 or more games. Current starter Matt Ryan was benched against the Minnesota Vikings in favor of Nick Foles in an effort to stop the largest comeback in NFL history, a 39-36 mid-December win by the Vikings in overtime.
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Might as well get your Indianapolis Colts Derek Carr jerseys now.
— Matt Conner (@MattConnerAA) December 28, 2022
Patriots.com staff writer Evan Lazar wondered what the impact of Derek Carr's benching would have on former Green Bay Packers receiver Davante Adams, who is still in the early stages of a five-year, $141.25 million deal he signed last March.
This will be fascinating over the offseason with Davante Adams. Carr is his guy. It’s why he’s in Vegas. Does he want to stay if the #Raiders move on from Carr? https://t.co/tk9QRbLodp
— Evan Lazar (@ezlazar) December 28, 2022
Though not a popular move, syracuse.com Bills writer Ryan Talbot said it was the right one if Derek Carr is going to be healthy in time for the Raiders to part ways with him. Las Vegas could either try to find a trade partner before the post Super Bowl deadline or cut their losses and release his contract, giving the Raiders the opportunity to continue putting their trust in either Foles or Stidham to take the starting job or get an early jumpstart on the search for a new franchise signal caller.
May not be a popular move, but it’s the right move. Raiders need to get out of that contract and they need Carr healthy to be able to part ways with him. https://t.co/1TNtKwEysK
— Ryan Talbot (@RyanTalbotBills) December 28, 2022
