New Raiders coach Josh McDaniels instructed reporters on the scouting mix Wednesday that Las Vegas hasn’t begun talks with quarterback Derek Carr concerning a contract extension. However the veteran signal-caller is coming into the ultimate yr of a deal he signed again in 2017. Extra importantly, McDaniels was clear when requested if Carr shall be his Week 1 starter in 2022, telling NFL Media “there isn’t any doubt about it.” In different phrases, a decision to Carr’s contract standing shall be coming.
It is doable the previous Professional Bowler will conform to play below his present deal, with the hope of securing an enormous payday in 2023, both with the Raiders or elsewhere. It is also doable Vegas might merely rework the final yr of his contract to extend his wage. However until McDaniels reverses course and fields commerce presents for Carr, the almost certainly situation is an extension, which might give the QB safety past 2022 and probably save the Raiders cash up entrance.
The query is, what precisely would an extension for Derek Carr seem like? What’s a good expectation for a brand new deal?
The very best level of reference might be the Vikings’ Kirk Cousins. Whereas Cousins is a polarizing determine in Minnesota, largely due to his steep wage, he is a comparable QB when it comes to profession manufacturing. Each veterans, regardless of minimal postseason expertise or success, have commonly been borderline top-10 passers. Carr is approaching 31, and Cousins inked his newest deal — a two-year, $66 million extension — on the identical age.
Carr has a extra established place inside the Raiders franchise, and Vegas is in a greater salary-cap state of affairs than Minnesota, so he’ll virtually assuredly look to eclipse Cousins’ common annual worth ($33M). However Cousins’ deal is a stable place to begin in the event you’re searching for a possible template. Carr’s final extension — a then-record five-year, $125M pact — at the moment makes him the NFL’s 14th-highest-paid QB when it comes to annual pay. Any new deal he indicators will virtually definitely clear the annual averages of a number of QBs forward of him, together with the Titans’ Ryan Tannehill ($29.5M), Falcons’ Matt Ryan ($30M), the Colts’ Carson Wentz ($32M) and the Lions’ Jared Goff ($33.5M).
A number of of Carr’s QB counterparts, particularly the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers ($33.5M) and Rams’ Matthew Stafford ($27M), are poised to see main upticks in annual pay due to potential extensions. The Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, who’s coming into the ultimate yr of his rookie deal, is also approaching a deal close to the highest of the market. However eclipsing $40M per yr — a complete at the moment held by solely the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes ($45M), the Payments’ Josh Allen ($40M) and Cowboys’ Dak Prescott ($40M) — figures to be a problem for Carr, particularly on a deal that stretches past two or three seasons. Prescott was virtually 4 years youthful than Carr on the time of his extension, whereas Mahomes and Allen had been simply 24 and 25, respectively.
Ultimately, we would venture Carr and the Raiders to strike one thing within the ballpark of a two-year, $70M extension that ties the QB to Las Vegas by 2024, paying a median of $35M per yr. This might characterize a $10M annual enhance for Carr, with maybe some tweaks to his 2021 cap determine to accommodate a direct elevate. Assuming each Rodgers and Stafford land profitable offers that pay no less than $40M per yr, Carr’s projected extension would make him the NFL’s sixth-highest-paid QB, excluding the Texans’ Deshaun Watson. A two-year pact would additionally give each Carr and McDaniels/the brand new Raiders regime flexibility to reassess their partnership in 2023, very like Cousins and the Vikings.
