Report states that Las Vegas may not spend big on a starting quarterback in 2023
The focus of the Las Vegas Raiders’ offense has been and will continue to be who will replace Derek Carr as the starting quarterback now that his nine-season tenure with the franchise has ended.
The speculation has been deep and continues to hover as the decision looms. On Monday, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated addressed the Raiders’ quarterback situation.
He mentioned that the team will be interested in free agent Jimmy Garoppolo, but they will not overspend for him. There have been reports that Garoppolo will be looking for a big deal, but Breer pointed out the Raiders will have a limit on a deal for Jimmy G, who played for the Las Vegas brass in New England.
Breer reported that if Garoppolo and the Raiders can’t come to a contract agreement, the team could pivot to 2022 backup Jarrett Stidham while bringing in someone such as Baker Mayfield to compete with Stidham, who started the final two games of the season. Breer also noted if that’s the case, the team could still draft a quarterback in the first round.
If that’s the case, the Raiders will have more salary-cap room to build around the quarterback position, although it may not mean the team will be ready to compete this season.
Las Vegas general manager Dave Ziegler said recently that the team may not find their “immediate starter” this year. To me, that was a strong hint that the team may go with Stidham this season, while trying to develop a rookie.
Breer’s report adds more fuel to that possibility.