Derek Carr and the Raiders have made it clear there will be no extension to the February 15 deadline for the next $40 million of Carr’s contract to become guaranteed. That gives the Raiders 12 days from right now to either find a trade partner or cut him loose.
Obviously, the team would much rather find a team willing to trade for Carr. But there is a lot of moving parts to that.
First of all, the Raiders have to find a team that wants him enough to give up assets for him — most likely in the form of draft picks. Second of all, Derek Carr has to approve of any prospective interested team and thus waive his no-trade clause to allow it to go through.
As to the first part, GM Dave Ziegler is confident the offers will come in.
“There’s going to be people interested in Derek Carr. There’s no doubt about that,” Ziegler told Sirius XM NFL radio at the Senior Bowl.
A report in The Athletic says that there isn’t much in the way of interest in giving up assets for Carr that Ziegler hopes there will be.
“With Feb 15th deadline looming, QB needy teams aren’t lining up to trade for Carr on his current contract. They know he can veto trades bc of his no trade clause & think he can be had on a better deal without giving up assets. Teams seem content to wait Raiders out on this.”
This could also be smokescreens, if we’re being honest. And things can change quickly.
Carr has been showing off his accuracy and arm strength at the Pro Bowl skills competition this week. And, while multiple teams may ultimately be interested in signing Carr, it only takes one team willing to part with picks in order to get him because that team wouldn’t want to compete for his services on the open market.
Previous reports said Carr was not granted permission to reach out to interested teams, but that doesn’t mean they can’t speak. There’s just a caveat. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Carr’s camp may speak with teams so long as that team and the Raiders have already agreed to terms on a potential trade.
Raiders already have granted QB Derek Carr permission to speak with other teams interested in trading for him that have also agreed to compensation with Las Vegas, per sources.
It's the same arrangement the Texans had with quarterback Deshaun Watson last off-season.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 3, 2023
So, the door is wide open. If the Raiders like the terms — something they too could wait out until a team steps up with a serious offer — it would then be up to Carr whether it’s a team he is willing to play for.
While 12 days doesn’t seem like a lot of time, it’s plenty of time to get a deal done. And as is always the case; deadlines spur action.
