Making sense of Derek Carr extension talk

Earlier in the offseason, there was speculation that the Las Vegas Raiders and Derek Carr would be engaging in contract extension talk this offseason.

After a long, quiet period, there was recent some chatter that contract talks were beginning. However, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported this week, that it appears no significant conversations have occurred.

Clearly, the Raiders’ brass has thought about the situation and a decision to commence serious negotiations will come at some point, even if it hasn’t happened quite yet.

Carr is under contract for two more years so there is no rush to tear up his contract and give him a new one. Yet, there are pros and cons of getting a deal done now or simply waiting another year.

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There are several young quarterbacks — including Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Cleveland’s Baker Mayfield — who will likely get new deals in the next 12 months. So they may reset the quarterback market. Therefore, if a Carr deal is done after those quarterbacks’ deals, he may ask for more, especially considering the 2022 salary-cap is expected to be much higher. Getting a deal done for Carr now may be cheaper.

But his current contract is relatively team friendly, so Las Vegas might want to play it out.

Also, waiting another year gives coach Jon Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock more time to make sure they want to continue with Carr for essentially the rest of his career. We’ve all heard all the rumors and speculation over the years that Gruden has a wandering eye at the quarterback position. Yet, he hasn’t replaced Carr yet.

In the end, I expect Carr to get this third contract with the Raiders. and I expect it to be lucrative. The only question is when it comes and, truly, there is no rush.