After Derek Carr’s first three years in Oakland, few would have thought that there would be speculation about the quarterback being traded. That, however, seems to be the case right now. The New York Giants are one of the teams that may be in the running, and as the chances of the Giants making a move for a quarterback grow higher and higher, the more realistic a move for the Raiders starter seems.
Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports is one of the ones that believes a trade can happen. “Ultimately what’s the point of keeping Derek Carr? And if you have all this draft capital and you get a one plus something else for Derek Carr, which I think he can. I’ll call it right now, Derek Carr to the New York Giants, at the combine,” La Canfora said on the Pick Six Podcast.
A trade at the combine likely assumes that the Giants aren’t confident in getting Oregon’s Justin Herbert, who could easily be the top pick. It seems like they could be on pace for that, but there’s still many games left to be played, and getting three or four wins could throw off the team’s chances of landing this year’s consensus top quarterback.
But one advantage that Carr provides that Herbert doesn’t is experience. In 2019, Carr will enter the sixth year of his career. In each of the past four seasons, Carr has thrown for more than 20 touchdowns, but the Raiders aren’t doing so well this year and have the same record as the Giants at 1-5. With both teams rebuilding, big name players changing hands isn’t such a crazy idea.
“I think that’s what they do and they plug him right in there with Barkley, Odell and Shepard and [Evan Engram] and they try to keep that thing going,” La Canfora continued.
It still remains to be seen, however, what the Giants would have to give up in a trade for Derek Carr. It likely won’t be a first round pick, and Carr’s contract also complicates things and means that the move might come with some kind of other roster change. Will it happen? It’s too early to tell.
But options are always good, especially when it seems almost certain that, for better or worse, the team will make a change in 2019.