Derek Carr’s contract sets obvious timeline for Raiders to cut him, and soon
By Rylie Smith
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr hasn’t been doing what the team needs him to do this season, and if they want to cut him, they should soon.
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr unfortunately hasn’t had the greatest season, and his contract has him set up for a potential out by February 15 with minimal financial penalty on the team if they cut him.
He’s set to make $116 million for the next three seasons if they keep him around, but if they cut him by February, they’ll only have $5.625 million in dead cap.
It’s definitely a tough decision to make as Carr has done better in his two previous seasons with the Raiders, but it’s one they’ll have to come to quickly before they miss this window of opportunity.
On one hand, Carr is a veteran of the Raiders, making his career debut with them back in 2014 and playing with them ever since. He was with the team far before they relocated from Oakland to Las Vegas, and though the team hasn’t been too successful over his time there, he has put out some solid results.
Unfortunately, the best bet seems to be to let him go.
Raiders QB Derek Carr’s time may be up in Las Vegas
While he’s certainly not the worst quarterback in the league, he’s making mistakes that are costing the Raiders some games, which is limiting their success.
Most recently, he struggled in the second half of Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams. In the first half, he did decent and held down a 13-3 lead. In the second half, he only managed to throw 11 yards, ultimately leading to a 17-16 loss.
It’s risky to hold onto him. Sure, there’s the chance that he’s just having a bad season. However, if they go off of that idea and he happens to do bad for his remaining three seasons, there’s a lot more to lose.
The Raiders would be better off investing in another quarterback and taking minimal financial hit from cutting Carr while they can.