Raiders sack QB Derek Carr after 9 seasons with team: source
According to a league source, the Raiders have fired longtime quarterback Derek Carr after nine seasons with the franchise. ESPN first reported Carr’s release. Here’s what you need to know:
- The Raiders had to cut Carr before Feb. 15, when base pay of $32.9 million for next year and $7.5 million for 2024 will be fully guaranteed. Carr is not accepting a trade with the Saints or any other team, league sources said the athlete.
- New Orleans was granted permission to speak with Carr, and the quarterback visited the Saints on February 8. The Raiders asked for a third-round pick but were willing to be flexible on compensation, according to a league source. Ultimately, the teams didn’t want to take over Carr’s contract.
- The Raiders benched Carr (starting Jarrett Stidham) for the final two games of the regular season to avoid risk of injury and he left the team to avoid distraction. Carr finished last season with 3,522 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, 14 interceptions and a 60.8 completion percentage, resulting in an 86.3 passing rating.
backstory
The Dennis Allen-led Raiders selected Carr 36th in the 2014 NFL Draft. Carr started immediately and started in 142 games with the Raiders in nine seasons. He threw for 35,222 yards, 217 touchdowns, and 99 interceptions with a completion percentage of 64.6, resulting in a 91.8 passer rating.
He made four trips to the Pro Bowl as a raider. The team went 63-79 with Carr as the starter. Carr played in one playoff game during his career, one loss in the 2021 AFC wild card round.
Carr sent a farewell message to fans of the organization via social media in January, signaling the end of his nine-year career with the team. He was 57-70 with the organization.
Where is Carr in his career?
The former Raiders quarterback watched his very good numbers decline in some advanced metrics via TruMedia and Sports Info Solutions in 2022. Below is a look at the past five seasons on Carr using these metrics:
- Expected points added per dropback (EPA/DB in the table below)
- Pedestrian Rating
- Catchable Pass Percentage (Catchable %)
- Percentage of target achievement (target achievement%)
Carr went from some of the better numbers in the league in recent history to a notable decline (league rankings each season in parentheses):
| Year | Epa/db | Evaluation | catchable% | At the Finish% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0.04 (12) | 86.3 (24) | 82.6 (33) | 73.7 (24) |
| 2021 | 0.06 (14) | 94.0 (14) | 87.1 (11) | 79.7 (3) |
| 2020 | 0.08 (16) | 101.4 (10) | 86.5 (12) | 80.2 (9) |
| 2019 | 0.14 (9) | 100.8 (9) | 87.0 (4) | 81.6 (3) |
| 2018 | 0.01 (25) | 93.9 (18) | 87.8 (3) | 83.7 (3) |
His 86.3 passer rating and 60.8 completion rate were the second-lowest of his career, with only his 2014 rookie season being worse. Was that a year-long blip under coach Josh McDaniels?
Was Carr leaning too much on Davante Adams since Carr aimed Adams 180 times which only resulted in 100 receptions? Adams’ 55.6 percent aim reception rate ranked him 136th in the league (at least 40 aims). — holder
Why did the Raiders release him?
There have been some good times, and like Carr said last week, maybe 10 years from now he can take his kids to a Raiders game and there will be smiles everywhere. Carr, the most polarizing player in franchise history, led the Raiders to their only two playoff appearances in the past 21 years and had 32 game-winning drives in his nine years.
But at his last home game in Oakland, he was booed by fans and kicked out in Las Vegas three years later.
The 6-11 Raiders underperformed miserably last season, and the rising cost of keeping a nine-year starter at quarterback no longer made sense for owner Mark Davis or his new regime of Ziegler and McDaniels. The Raiders must now decide whether to attempt a first-round switch for Aaron Rodgers (trade) or Jimmy Garoppolo (free agent), or draft a quarterback and a new face of the franchise.
Carr has been handcuffed by some truly terrible draft picks from the last two regimes, and how Ziegler fares in the draft over the next few years will ultimately mean more than his decision about a new quarterback this spring. — Tafur
Was it the right move?
From a value perspective, this is a rough result for the Raiders. Carr is a good quarterback. He’s only 31 and has only missed two regular-season games in nine seasons through injury, and they’re losing him for nothing.
Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan and Sam Darnold are all quarterbacks worse than Carr recently traded for significant draft capital.
Carr ultimately prevailed here due to his no-trade clause, but they can’t escape the blame given the Raiders’ current regime, which has agreed to include that clause in the three-year contract extension he signed last year. There’s really no way to take a positive view of this result. — reed
Where do the Raiders go from here?
Looking ahead, however, the Raiders are in a good position to find a viable replacement for Carr this offseason. By releasing him, they immediately freed up $29.25 million in Cap space.
That brings them up to $48,389,838 in practical cap space, according to Over The Cap.
They can also downsize players like running back Brandon Bolden, center Andre James, and defensive tackle Bilal Nichols, among others, easily freeing up another $10 million or more in cap space if they choose. They could use that money to sign a quarterback through free agencies or get the numbers working to acquire a veteran like Lamar Jackson, Aaron Rodgers or Ryan Tannehill.
If you want to put the bulk of those dollars into improving offense and defense, then Drafting is another option. They are currently ready to pick number 7 in the standings in the first round. That’s too low a pick to guarantee they’ll land a quarterback they like, but you never know how the draft board will fall.
Additionally, they have the draft capital — they are expected to have 11 picks total once the compensatory picks are awarded in March — to potentially complete a trade to move up the board.
Getting zero assets in exchange for Carr is negative, but no one will remember that if the Raiders identify and acquire a quarterback this offseason who will play at a high level going forward. While this is certainly not guaranteed, they do have a wealth of resources to invest in their endeavors.
It’s far too early to say if that would put them in a position to improve from a sorry 2022 season — how they address their aforementioned needs is just as important — but the quarterback will always be the biggest single piece of the equation . Ziegler and coach Josh McDaniels are under pressure to make the right choice. — reed
required reading
(Photo: Stephen R Sylvanie / USA Today)
https://theathletic.com/4194051/2023/02/14/raiders-release-derek-carr/ Raiders sack QB Derek Carr after 9 seasons with team: source
