Derek Carr, Raiders reportedly to discuss a contract extension. Here’s what it could mean
It appears Derek Carr will see his contract extended soon with the Las Vegas Raiders.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Sunday morning that Carr is getting the required endorsement and support from new Raiders general manager Dave Ziegler and coach Josh McDaniels.
“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,” Rapoport wrote.
Carr is due to enter the final year of his existing contract and make $20 million. He signed an extension in 2017 that was for five years and $125.025 million.
Reportedly, the Patriots wanted Carr prior to the 2021 season, but now McDaniels — after leaving as New England’s offensive coordinator to become the Raiders’ new coach — has him in Las Vegas. McDaniels spoke highly of the former Fresno State star at an introductory news conference on Jan. 31.
“Derek has won a lot of games in this league and we’ve competed against each other a number of times, and I have a lot of respect for him,” McDaniels said. “He certainly did a good job this year leading their offense. I spoke with him yesterday. We had a great conversation. Looking forward to actually getting to meet him and get to know him as a person, as a human being, and then getting to work in terms of developing our offense this year into what it’s going to be.
“But there’s no question that we have the capacity and capability of winning with Derek here. We all know that. I look forward to the challenge of trying to grow not only Derek but everybody on the roster to try to reach our potential. I never feel like a player is a finished product, and our job as coaches is to try to continue to identify places where we might be able to get better and work hard to try to improve, and I know he’s completely on board with that.”
Rapoport added that Carr’s “top choice for a new coach” was McDaniels. Carr also had backed former Raiders interim coach Rich Bisaccia for the permanent job. Bisaccia is now with the Green Bay Packers as special teams coach.
Signing their veteran starting quarterback to an extension is ideal for the Raiders because he is a relatively proven commodity capable of being a winning quarterback in the NFL, despite a sub-.500 win-loss record (57-70) that hasn’t been all his fault.
The defense finally awoke this past season and the Raiders finished 10-7 and ended their playoff drought.
Carr started his rookie season 0-10 before a win against the Kansas City Chiefs.
During his time with the Raiders, Carr also has been unable to enjoy any kind of run with a true No. 1-type wide receiver. He came close in 2016, with both Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper topping the 1,000-yard mark, but they were gone within the next two years.
A fairly regular shuffling of head coaches and offensive coordinators during his eight seasons also has not helped.
Carr and the Raiders offense still have made it work much of the time, producing his fourth straight 4,000-yard season and actually threatening the 5,000-yard mark this past season. He also has 30 career game-winning drives.
So it likely has only been a matter of time before Carr sees an extension.
A new deal could add two to three years; contracts and salary-cap expert Joel Corry of CBS Sports wrote that the extension “probably puts Derek Carr in the $40M per year QB club.”
It is likely a new deal will happen before the free agency period begins March 16.
Ziegler and McDaniels will be on the lookout for a top weapon to pair with Carr this offseason while also trying to beef up the offensive line to protect the three-time Pro Bowler.
This story was originally published February 13, 2022 at 1:41 PM.
