Raiders quarterback Derek Carr is the latest veteran signal-caller to be thrown into the NFL rumor mill.
Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Tuesday that Carr has become a “sought-after commodity” for teams who are looking for a veteran quarterback but missed out on Matthew Stafford or can’t afford to acquire Deshaun Watson.
Does Carr make sense for the 49ers? Jimmy Garoppolo's future with the 49ers has been a topic of debate this offseason, so perhaps the team would view Carr as an option to be quarterback in 2021.
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Bonsignore spoke to insider sources who said the Raiders likely would be interested in moving Carr only if doing so led to a surefire upgrade like Watson. In the proposed scenario, the 49ers would give up a first-round draft pick as the third team in a three-team deal. It’s hard to envision the 49ers sacrificing so much in a Watson deal without landing the star Houston Texans quarterback.
Carr put together a fine season for the Raiders last year, throwing for a career-high 4,103 yards with 27 touchdowns and nine interceptions with a 67.3 completion percentage. He definitely has been more durable than 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, missing just two games throughout his seven-year career.
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But Garoppolo is capable of putting up similar numbers when healthy, so shipping him to Las Vegas with picks seems like a bit too much to give up in this hypothetical scenario. The 49ers would basically be paying a premium based on Garoppolo’s injury history, which has limited him to just 25 out of 48 possible games the past three regular seasons.
San Francisco 49ers
Both Carr and Garoppolo are 30 years old and have two seasons left on their respective deals. Carr is on the books for $22.125 million next season which would be less than the $26.4 million Garoppolo is due to earn, giving the Raiders additional negotiating leverage.
Along with other names like veteran Kirk Cousins, Carr probably doesn’t fit the bill for the 49ers when it comes to a quarterback upgrade this offseason.