Quarterback Derek Carr said goodbye to the Las Vegas Raiders on social media Thursday.
☠️ pic.twitter.com/fuSOAWkwk8
— Derek Carr (@derekcarrqb) January 12, 2023
“Raider Nation breaks my heart, I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye in person,” Carr wrote on Twitter. “We have certainly been on a roller coaster in our 9 years together. From the bottom of my heart, I am so grateful for the years of support you gave me and my family.”
Carr also referenced a previous comment in which he said he would probably quit football if he was no longer a member of the Raiders.
“I once said if I’m not a Raider I’d rather be home and I meant it, but I never imagined it would end this way,” Carr wrote. “That fire that burns inside me to win a championship still rages. A fire that no man can extinguish; only God. So I’m looking forward to a new city and a new team that, no matter what the circumstances, will get everything I’ve got. Winning a championship is what I have always wanted and what I will continue to work for”.
The Raiders are expected to try to trade Carr. However, he has a no-trade clause in the three-year, $121.5 million extension he signed in April. Carr’s base salary of $32.9 million for 2023 and $7.5 million of his 2024 salary are guaranteed if he is still on the roster on February 15.
If the Raiders can’t find a trading partner by then, they could release him. They would do it to avoid being in trouble for more than $40 million in guaranteed money. It would cost them about $5 million in dead capital space.
Carr was benched for the final two games of the season and walked away from the team during that time. Carr completed 60.8 percent of his passes for 3,522 yards with 24 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 15 games this season. He is the franchise’s all-time leader in passing yards (35,222) and touchdowns (217).
A lot of teams in need of a quarterback would look to Carr, like the Indianapolis Colts or the New York Jets, just to name a few.
