
NFL Network says Raiders are moving forward with short-term deal for QB
When Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler interviewed with the Las Vegas Raiders, it was rumored that they’d be looking to give starting quarterback Derek Carr a contract extension.
Now, a few weeks later and after McDaniels and Ziegler have been hired as the Raiders head coach and general manager, those rumors have become an official report. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network dropped an article on Sunday stating that the organization is moving forward with a contract extension for Carr.
“Sources say the Raiders are moving forward with Carr at QB and prepared to discuss a contract extension that would keep him in Las Vegas for the foreseeable future,” writes Rapoport. “Carr has one year left on his contract, making nearly $20 million.”
“For weeks, as the Raiders searched for a coach, Carr mulled his future, with both sides left to make a mutual decision about what would come next. Sources say Carr’s top choice for a new coach was actually the one the team hired. In the past, McDaniels’ and Ziegler’s affection for the three-time Pro Bowler led them to consider trading for him.”
Rapoport goes on to say that a short-term deal for the franchise leader in passing yards and touchdowns may be in his future. “Short-term” is the key phrase in that sentence for the soon-to-be 31-year-old who is coming off arguably the most successful season of his career, all things considered.
Could he be looking at a one-year extension? Two? Maybe even three?
Who knows at this point, but Carr does carry a $36.1 million per year market value, according to Spotrac.com. An extension that large would put him as the fifth-highest paid player and quarterback in the league, and give him about a $16 million raise from what currently he’s expected to make in 2022.
Spotrac also projects the Raiders to have about $21.3 million in cap space with Carr’s current contract and a $19.8 million cap hit. So, an extension will take some finagling of the cap by Ziegler and Co. to help fill out the rest of the roster.
In other Raiders’ links:
- Raiders add two more former Patriots to coaching staff: former wide receivers coach Mick Lombardi will be Vegas’ new offensive coordinator and Cameron Bricillo will serve as the offensive line coach.
- Rob Ryan back in black: the Raiders defensive coordinator from 2004 to 2008 is heading back to the organization as a senior defensive assistant.
- Hunter Renfrow originally had no interest in Raiders: “I had no idea where Oakland was. My geography is awful. It’s so far away from home. When I found out it was California… taxes. And I was like, ‘I don’t want to be there,’…And then we’re going to Vegas in a year. And you know Sin City, that’s the strip, that’s craziness. So that’s the number one place we did not want to go,” via The Players Club Podcast.
- A letter from Fred Biletnikoff to Cliff Branch: “This recognition of your career is long overdue, and I couldn’t be happier to see you finally enshrined in Canton. You are just as deserving as any receiver that has gotten into the Hall of Fame.” Find the full letter on the Raiders’ website.