Do The Raiders Really Believe In Derek Carr?
Do the Raiders really believe in Derek Carr? The contract he signed doesn’t give us as clear of an answer as you’d think.
Yes, the Las Vegas Raiders gave Derek Carr a contract extension, but that really is not an extension at all when you look at the details. After the 2022 season, the Raiders can cut Derek Carr with hardly over five million in dead cap, according to Spotrac. Carr is essentially playing on his prior deal, with three years worth of team options, so that raises the following question. Do the Raiders really believe in Derek Carr?
The Raiders believe in Carr enough to say “If you play good, we’ll keep you around for about market value.” But they don’t believe in him enough to say “We’ll keep you around for market value.” See the difference? The Raiders will keep Carr if he plays well, but they have baked in the option to be able to dump him with next to no reprocussions at all. If they truly believed in him, why would they give themselves that out? Well, there are a few reasons I can think of.
They Just Do Not Believe In Him
Whether you like it or not, Derek Carr has never won a playoff game, and has struggled when the talent around him has diminished (shocker). In his defense, what year was he supposed to win a playoff game? His team sucked and his divison has been difficult for quite some time and has only gotten more loaded now that the Broncos have a real quarterback again. Let’s face it, there was never a season where winning a playoff game was a reasonable expectation for the Raiders. Hell they weren’t even supposed to make the playoffs this year! But what I think or what you think doesn’t matter because the Raiders gave themselves one of the easiest outs in the world.
They Do Believe, But Can’t Show It
Another option is this, the Raiders just don’t have the liquid cash to guarantee this money. This was a rumour that cash flow was an issue when they traded Khalil Mack, so it’s not crazy to think it is an issue again now.
Regardless, the Derek Carr contract is incredibly team friendly and the Raiders can cut him loose with virtually no penalty, and that alone is cause to doubt their belief in him.
