Derek Carr spent nine years with the Raiders before being released this offseason, giving him an opportunity to join a new team for the second half of his career. He only reached the playoffs once and failed to win that lone opportunity, struggling to find much team success in Oakland and Vegas.
Similarly, Matthew Stafford spent 12 years in Detroit with no playoff wins before being traded to the Rams in 2021. Immediately, he and the Rams won a Super Bowl in his first season.
The Jets are in the market for a quarterback and have met with Carr multiple times, which has head coach Robert Saleh comparing Carr’s situation to Stafford’s from a couple of years ago.
“He’s been asked to do a lot in his career,” Saleh said, via the New York Post. “I think he’s more in line with what Stafford’s career has been. If you can just get him to a place that can surround him with all the pieces to just allow him to play quarterback 10-15 times a game, it would be pretty cool. He’s a solid young man.”
Saleh’s not far off with this comparison. Stafford probably has a bit more arm talent and reached the playoffs three times with the Lions, but Carr has never been supported by a strong defense, which was the case for Stafford most of his career in Detroit.
It’s hard to imagine Carr going to the Jets and winning a Super Bowl in his first season like Stafford did with the Rams, but he still has plenty of good football left no matter where he lands.
