The Las Vegas Raiders have been all but eliminated from playoff contention and could be eliminated by the time they play in Week 17. But, even with that slim chance still there, head coach Josh McDaniels appears to be preparing to rest players based on health and long term factors, which means player contracts.
.@Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said a lot of factors will be taken into account - both short-term and long-range - in deciding playing time over the last two games. That includes quarterback Derek Carr
— Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) December 26, 2022
McDaniels also said, “ Injuries or contracts, what have you, I think you got to consider all that stuff.”
McDaniels hasn’t been particularly impressed by Carr of late either.
Josh McDaniels: "For us to be able to win win at this time of the year and be productive offensively, you have to throw the ball better than what we've thrown at times here in the last month and a half. We've been able to win some in spite of that."
— Anthony Galaviz (@agalaviz_TheBee) December 26, 2022
This has many wondering if the team will sit Derek Carr to keep him healthy and trade him this offseason. Beat reporter Tashan Reed says the team would only have a $5.6 million dead money hit if they trade him after the Super Bowl, but he needs to be healthy for that to happen.
If Carr remains healthy or is put on the shelf, then none of this money becomes guaranteed until February 15th. #Raiders would have a dead money hit of just $5.6M if they trade him. https://t.co/VzvyCoCBLp
— Tashan Reed (@tashanreed) December 26, 2022
At this point the team could easily play him and still trade him, but if they do end up resting him, a trade would seem to be a foregone conclusion. If that happened, Jarrett Stidham would take over the final two games.