Top 3 trade destinations for Derek Carr in 2023 NFL season
The Las Vegas Raiders seem ready to move on from Derek Carr. After a miserable season that sees them with a 6-9 record with a couple of games to go, the team has decided he is the problem. It is hard to disagree with that assessment, given their latest loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The defense limited the opposition to just 13 points but still lost because they could only score 10. Derek Carr threw three interceptions, making it the third consecutive game in which he has thrown interceptions.
But despite his lack of form for the Las Vegas Raiders in the short term, he is still a serviceable quarterback who could be the starting quarterback in some place in the league.
Carr has more than 35,000 career yards in passing and has made it to three Pro Bowls. There are quite a few teams that may see him as an upgrade. Here are some of the trade destinations that might be of interest.
Trade destinations for Derek Carr in the 2023 NFL season
#1 - Carolina Panthers
Some teams keep searching for a new quarterback every season, and the Carolina Panthers seem to be one of them. Over the last two seasons, they have worked with Sam Darnold, Cam Newton and Baker Mayfield as starting quarterbacks and have failed to get anything going. They are expected to be on the lookout for a new quarterback.
Derek Carr could be the answer to their search. The Panthers are fourth from the bottom this year in both passing and rushing yards per game and need to sort out both facets of the game.
Sam Darnold is the current incumbent and has not been bad for the last few weeks. In the last game, he had a passer rating of 121.4. However, that came against the Detroit Lions, the bottom-ranked defense in the league. They even had 320 yards of rushing in that game, so that is one place where they are improving.
Carolina Panthers over the last 14 months:
- Trade their 2021 sixth + second- and fourth-round picks in 2022 for Sam Darnold
- Pick up Darnold's fifth-year option
- Bring Cam Newton back midseason
- Trade up during draft to select Matt Corral
- Trade for Baker Mayfield
But the Panthers have seen enough of Sam Darnold and may need to take a chance on a new quarterback with the experience of playing consistently at a high level. This is something Carr has shown that Darnold has not. The Raiders might also be more willing to trade him to an NFC team than a fellow AFC team, which might open up this trade possibility even more.
#2 - New York Jets
The New York Jets thought they had their guy in Zach Wilson. That was right after they moved on from the answer they had found a few years previously in Sam Darnold. But it looks like the Zach Wilson experiment is over.
The Jets have had serious problems at the quarterback position this year. This season, they have gone through four starting quarterbacks, including Zach Wilson, Joe Flacco, Mike White and Chris Streveler. It shows they are yet to find the right person for the job, and Derek Carr can quickly come in and stabilize the ship.
Jets QB Stats
Zach Wilson 1688 yds 6 TD 7 INT(2 300 yard games outta 9)
Mike White 952 yds 3 TDs 2 INT(2 300 yd games outta 3)
Joe Flacco 902 yds 5 TD 3 INT(2 300 yd games outta 4)
Chris Streveler 90 yards
The New York Jets have been the third-best defense in the league in terms of yards allowed. That has helped them remain in credible playoff contention for as long as they can. But their offense is ranked in the bottom half of the league, and the fact that they look to be slipping out of postseason contention can mainly be laid at the feet of shoddy offense, particularly quarterback play.
As much as the Las Vegas Raiders have struggled this year, their offense is still ranked higher than the Jets, and therefore, getting Derek Carr will be a significant upgrade for them. They have failed in the quarterback position with the last two big draft picks that they spent in that position. Now might be the time to go down the veteran route and get an experienced campaigner like Derek Carr under center.
#3 - Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts have been locked in a carousel of quarterbacks for the past three seasons since Andrew Luck retired. They first had Jacoby Brissett. They went with Philip Rivers for one season, followed by Carson Wentz. The experiment was abandoned, and they settled for Matt Ryan, but that has not worked out well. Based on Nick Foles' recent performance against the Los Angeles Chargers, he does not look to be the answer either.
In each case, there has been a problem. Rivers and Ryan were traded at the end of their careers, as both were on the wrong side of 35. Carson Wentz was never as consistently good to be called a starter. The same can be said of Nick Foles and Jacoby Brissett.
Andrew Luck retired in 2018. There's been 64 games since then. Here is the Colts' record by Starting QB.
11-5 (68.7%) Philip Rivers
9-8 (52.9%) Carson Wentz
7-8 (46.6%) Jacoby Brissett
4-7-1 (36.3%) Matt Ryan
0-2 (0.0%) Sam Ehlinger
0-1 (0.0%) Nick Foles
0-1 (0.0%) Brian Hoyer
Derek Carr, on the other hand, has been an undisputed starter ever since he has been in the league. He is also only 31, which gives him a chance to play at a high level for at least a couple more years. The Colts have been burned before, but trading for Derek Carr might just be a trade that works out.