NFL Rumors: Derek Carr is off the trade market for the Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders have been rumored to made Derek Carr available. That rumor is no longer true.

The quarterback carousel will be spinning around since the NFL season has come to a close. While names such as Deshaun Watson, Carson Wentz and Sam Darnold all are pro-quo victims of trade, there’s always a wild card who could be made available.

Las Vegas Raiders star Derek Carr is coming off his best season. Over the past three years, Carr has thrown for over 4,000 yards and be the one constant in Jon Gruden’s offense. This is why it became odd when the initial report came out that the Raiders were willing to trade him this offseason.

That report has now been debunked.

According to a report from The Athletic’s Vic Tafur, the Raiders have no interest in trading Carr this upcoming offseason. However, the rumor is that should the team call for Marcus Mariota‘s services, Las Vegas would listen to offers.

Mariota signed a two-year, $17,6 million deal with the team in 2020 to battle for the starting role. Ultimately, it pushed Carr to be even better than the year before.

What’s Mariota’s worth on the open market

As reported last week by Vinny Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, teams do have interest in Carr. The problem is, do the Raiders have interest elsewhere? Unless they could land a trade for Watson via some three-team deal, they’re better suited with the 30-year-old under center.

Carr actually has the skills to play like a top 10 quarterback in the NFL world today. The difference is that how many times will a franchise have the option to land a top-five quarterback who is four years younger and on a contract that’s affordable for five seasons?

Damned if you do, dammed if you don’t when it’s all said and done.

Mariota’s asking price will be much smaller and teams still can win with the former No.2 selection under center. Franchises such as the Washington Football Team and New England Patriots are likely the contenders to land him should they be out of the running for a new signal-caller in the NFL Draft come April.

A trade for Watson will only be growing in price over time. Should the Philadelphia Eagles land two first-round picks for Carson Wentz, Carr’s value would go up as well. That also means Watson’s asking price would skyrocket out of the roof.

Barring a monster offer, expect Carr to remain in Sin City. It was a nice thought, but the Raiders gunslinger in 2021 already resides in the building.