Raiders are benching Derek Carr for final 2 games of 2022 season

Las Vegas Raiders coach Josh McDaniels announced on Wednesday morning that the team will sit starting quarterback Derek Carr for the final two games of the season. The Raiders play on Sunday at home against the San Francisco 49ers and in Week 18 at home against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Backup QB Jarrett Stidham, who was in New England with McDaniels, is set to make his first career start. Also, rookie Chase Garbers will be the No. 2 quarterback and thus Carr will be inactive and done for the season.

Stidham has no career stats and has attempts 61 career passes. He was 8-of-13 in a mop-up role in a 24-0 loss at New Orleans in his only Raiders’ action. Now, he will be cleaning up in a lost season. The Raiders are 6-9 and have faint playoff chances. Still, McDaniels and Las Vegas general manager, Dave Ziegler, clearly feel like the 2022 season is over.

Of course, the big picture impact here is that by sitting Carr, the Raiders give a strong signal that his nine-season career with the team is over. The Raiders have just over $5 million in dead salary-cap money as part of an extension the team gave him this offseason. However, if Carr gets seriously injured during the remainder of this season, it would trigger more than $40 million in guaranteed money in 2023 and 2024.

So, this move gives Las Vegas insurance if they do, indeed, move on from Carr. McDaniels didn’t offer much on Carr’s future. He said there will be a lot of evaluating in the offseason and that a final decision on Carr’s future has not been made.

While it’s been a disappointing 2022 season for the team as a whole, Carr has had a poor season, it’s been his worst in recent years. He has thrown for 3,522 yards, with 24 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He has completed just 60.8 percent of his passes.

UPDATE:
NFL Media reported that Carr will not be practicing for the rest of the season. It is not known if he will be present on game day.