The New England Patriots are at a weird crossroads for the franchise. Everyone knew they would have to move on without superstar quarterback Tom Brady at some point.

However, this is a bit of a different situation than many expected. The reason it's different is because Brady isn't retiring. So at this point, he could technically still return to the Patriots. He's also a free agent though, and he has been linked to a number of other teams.

So the Patriots are in limbo. Is Brady returning to the team, or going somewhere else? If he goes somewhere else, New England will need to find a new quarterback.

Acquiring Derek Carr could be the perfect move. Here's why.

First, we should get this out of the way. Carr struggled after getting injured. His 2017 season was bad and 2018 wasn't anything special either.

2019 looked really solid though. People still have this perception that Carr is average-at-best and write him off. However, he's got a lot of talent and did a lot with a little for the Raiders.

Let's look at the 2019 seasons of Carr and Brady.

First, we'll look at Brady. He threw for 4,057 yards and 24 touchdowns (eight interceptions) on a 60.8 completion percentage. The argument that he didn't have a good supporting cast is definitely valid. Julian Edelman was there, but outside of that, there wasn't much.

Antonio Brown played one game for them, the running backs struggled, they had no tight end and they relied heavily on rookie receivers.

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However, you could make a lot of those arguments for Carr. He had a great running back in Josh Jacobs, and Darren Waller was an elite-level tight end in 2019. However, his receivers left a lot to be desired, and he certainly didn't have an Edelman.

Despite that, Carr had arguably a better year than Brady did. He threw for 4,054 yards and 21 touchdowns, compared to eight interceptions. However, he did so on 100 less pass attempts, completing 70.4% of his passes.

So Carr actually played better than Brady did last year. And it's not like he was doing it with crazy elite weapons.

Then there's the fact that he likely wouldn't be all that expensive. The Raiders might be considering going in a different direction anyways, so dumping his salary would likely be enough incentive for them to give up Carr without asking for anything crazy in return.

Finally, he's a perfect substitute for Brady. Carr has shown great accuracy and a strong arm. They can plug Carr into the offense and compete immediately. Not only can they compete immediately, but he's only 28 (turns 29 later in March), so he still has a lot of football left in him.

Carr could become their new franchise quarterback. With Bill Belichick coaching him, maybe he turns into that star people expected years ago.

The Patriots might be at a point in the franchise that we've all been expecting for a while. They need to find Brady's replacement. Getting Carr could be the perfect move if they want to build for their future, without mortgaging the present.