NFL Media reacts to Raiders benching Derek Carr
By Josh Hill
The Las Vegas Raiders have benched quarterback Derek Carr, and Twitter didn’t hold back with its reactions.
It took less than a full season for Josh McDaniels to throw Derek Carr under the bus and onto the scrap heap. After a disappointing first season with McDaniels as head coach in Las Vegas, the Raiders have officially benched Carr and will sit him for the final two games of the season.
The move, rather transparently, is being made to preserve Carr’s health so that an offseason trade can be made. That’s just the start of the Raiders challenges that lie ahead, as Carr’s contract significantly complicates a trade and the team is now in a position of zero leverage since cutting their quarterback seems to be one of the next likely moves on the table.
Obviously, the Raiders would much prefer to trade Carr and there’s a decent chance that a partner will be found. Teams like the Buccaneers, Jets, Texans, and Colts could all be in the market for Carr, but the NFL Draft could take a few of those teams out of the running.
There’s also the larger upcoming quarterback class to consider, as the Jets seem destined to partner with Jimmy Garoppolo, and guys like Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew could be a candidate for a team like the Bucs who will likely be approaching 2023 as a bridge year before finding a franchise quarterback of the future.
Simply put, the Raiders are in a tough spot and their issues do not begin or end with Carr. That being said, it appears he’s the first domino of change to fall ahead of an offseason of critical importance to how the next few years in Vegas go.
Derek Carr benched: NFL Media and fans react
NFL media was surprised but not totally shocked that Carr was benched, and the move is much more about the future:
Feels like we're getting closer and closer to the Raiders outright releasing Derek Carr right after the season. And whatever you think of Derek Carr, QBs as good as Derek Carr very rarely just become available for no draft capital before their late 30s.
— Robert Mays (@robertmays) December 28, 2022
Derek Carr had started 91 consecutive games at QB for the Raiders.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) December 28, 2022
That was - by far - the longest active starting streak for the same team by any QB in the NFL.
This Sunday will be the first game he does not start since 2017.
Derek Carr is Derek Carr, but this is the most hysterical scapegoating I’ve seen from an overwhelmed coach since at least Jeff Fisher roamed the land
— Patrick Daugherty (@RotoPat) December 28, 2022
Davante Adams left the Packers for one 6-11 year with Derek Carr.
— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) December 28, 2022
Seems unlikely he'll be getting a second season together.
https://twitter.com/ScottJay94/status/1608182374625329155
From NFL Now: Are the #Raiders saying goodbye to Derek Carr? Time will tell. But the #49ers said goodbye to Jimmy Garoppolo, then he became their starter. The NFL is wacky, sometimes. pic.twitter.com/8NLpiIYb1z
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 28, 2022
If the Raiders sit Derek Carr Sunday, it will be the 4th game he misses in 9 seasons and the 1st not due to injury.
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) December 28, 2022
His salary of $33 million next year and $7.5 million in 2024 become guaranteed if he gets hurt, and front office met last 2 nights to decide on course of action.
Derek Carr now the latest veteran QB looking at an uncertain future. Gonna be an eventful offseason of quarterback movement once again.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) December 28, 2022
Following the Watson contract, there were three major QB extensions this offseason: Derek Carr, Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson.
— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) December 28, 2022
Although all those teams avoided the Watson guarantee precedent (now the subject of a collusion claim), they all would have been better off waiting.
Fans around the NFL had a similar reaction, with Raiders fans particularly split over the move and whether it was the right one to make. Specifically, the Carr benching was seen more as a scapegoat situation and meant to protect Josh McDaniels more than anything else.
Josh McDaniels - who should have been fired 3 times this year - now gets to put the blame on Derek Carr. What a clown.
— Quan (@TheFinalQuan) December 28, 2022
https://twitter.com/FiveOneOhJoe/status/1608185552309989376
https://twitter.com/ChelseaKlams/status/1608185547939540992
Listen I know Derek Carr hasn’t been great, but how tf are you going to bench him for Stidham
— colton: lifelong Taylor Hendricks fan (@AggieFanColton) December 28, 2022
McDaniels has been on the hot seat for pretty much the entire season, but it looks very unlikely that he’ll be fired over what has transpired this season. That being said, the pressure is now on for him to find a quarterback that makes his offense work in Vegas, and the list of options that are markedly better than Carr doesn’t appear to be very long.