The Las Vegas Raiders have benched quarterback Derek Carr for the rest of the regular season. Jarrett Stidham will be handed the opportunity to start the remaining two games and prove his worth as a signal-caller.
Team head coach Josh McDaniels announced as much on Wednesday, revealing Carr will be inactive as the No.3 QB, while Chase Garbers will play backup.
It appears Carr’s career with the Raiders is coming to an end after nine seasons. The three-time Pro Bowl star is being benched to preserve him for the trading block, according to ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler, who also notes that the Raiders reckon the 31-year-old’s value could increase after the Super Bowl in February.
Per Fowler, Carr’s passing accuracy has also become a concern, while the team intends to assess Stidham too.
Carr’s $32.9 million base salary will become fully guaranteed on February 15 but his dead-cap number would only be $5.6 million if he gets cut. Of course, the Raiders would prefer avoiding the hefty price, but the player’s no-trade clause would also complicate matters.
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If Fowler is correct, it will be interesting to see how the team works around the above.
At 6-9 with two games to go, the Raiders’ playoff hopes are all but expired. If the plan is to trade their QB, they might as well shut him down.
