Las Vegas Raiders’ quarterback Derek Carr is likely on the move this coming offseason. Which teams should try and make a trade for the veteran? I believe that Carr is a franchise quarterback, thus acquiring his services would indeed allow a team to not have to worry about drafting one.
Sure, average quarterbacks don’t win Super Bowls, elite ones do. However, there might be five truly elite signal callers on planet Earth. There’s a reason why more average throwers like Derek Carr, Jared Goff, Ryan Tannehill, and Kirk Cousins have all had starting jobs for a while.
A team may never win a Super Bowl with these types of players, but they are valuable for a few reasons:
- They’re good enough to win games with
- They can help bring a team into a bit of relevancy
- You can make the postseason with them
- They will never cost top of the market money
- They buy time for a team to find a longer term and better answer
Take a look at Alex Smith, for example. He was brought over when the Chiefs hired Andy Reid about a decade ago. Smith proved he was plenty good enough to win with. The Chiefs also made the playoffs quite a bit with Smith under center.
However, there came a time where the organization made the decision that Smith was not someone they thought could take them over the hump, and thus, they took a chance on Patrick Mahomes, and the rest is history.
The same principle can be applied to someone like Derek Carr. Teams that have been circling the drain for years can buy themselves some time in trying to find a long-term quarterback if they acquire Carr and start him for, let’s say, 3-5 years.
To me, there are three teams that have largely been irrelevant for a while that need to be in on Carr:
Washington Commanders, Carolina Panthers, New York Jets.
I believe that each of these teams have a playoff caliber roster, but their quarterback play is sub-par. In fact, each team was in the playoff mix for a while during 2022. The Jets were somehow 7-4 at one point while primarily starting Zach Wilson and Mike White.
The Commanders were giving teams a run for their money with Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinicke, and the Panthers had some life for a while with PJ Walker, Sam Darnold, and Baker Mayfield.
Derek Carr should be in high demand this offseason, as he’s got a clear role in the NFL.