Getty Image / Gaelen Morse
This morning, Derek Carr and the Las Vegas Raiders removed all doubt about what the future holds for Carr’s career.
The team began looking into trade options for Carr and he released a farewell letter to the Raiders’ fans.
Despite the Raiders seemingly placing the blame for their shortcomings on Carr after a season that saw his numbers dip after adding Davante Adams to his receiver corps, the quarterback still shouldn’t have too much trouble finding a new home.
However, it seems that one of the teams many saw as a potential landing spot for Carr won’t be pursuing a trade for the QB.
According to The Atheltc’s Zak Keefer, the Indianapolis Colts are not trading for Derek Carr.
Since some are still asking, no, the Colts are **not** trading for Derek Carr https://t.co/LZ5ETa5cQQ
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) January 12, 2023
With the Indianapolis Colts out of the mix, that leaves the Raiders looking at teams like the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers as potential trade partners for Carr. They could find a couple more during the offseason depending on what happens with the QB situations in Baltimore and Tampa Bay.
It’s not entirely surprising that the Colts wouldn’t want to trade draft capital for a rental quarterback for a 3rd consecutive offseason, especially since they may need trade some picks in order to move up and draft a franchise QB.
It will be interesting to see exactly what Carr costs whoever ends up trading for him. Over the past year, we’ve seen similar situations lead to Matt Ryan being traded for a 3rd round pick, Carson Wentz traded for a 3rd rounder and a 2nd round pick swap, and Baker Mayfield traded for what ended up being a 5th round pick.
Derek Carr is talented enough and still has enough years left in the league to warrant being on the higher end of those returns, but his hefty contract could make it tough for the Raiders to get the kind of compensation they may be hoping for.