Raiders benching Derek Carr, giving Jarrett Stidham first career start in Week 17

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels is making a big change at quarterback for the final two weeks of the 2022 NFL regular season.

McDaniels told reporters Wednesday that he is benching Derek Carr and will start backup Jarrett Stidham in Week 17 against the San Francisco 49ers and Week 18 versus the Kansas City Chiefs -- both at home.

Josh McDaniels: "For us to be able to win win at this time of the year and be productive offensively, you have to throw the ball better than what we've thrown at times here in the last month and a half. We've been able to win some in spite of that."
— Anthony Galaviz (@agalaviz_TheBee) December 26, 2022

The Raiders own a 6-9 record and still have a chance to make the playoffs in the AFC, but those odds are miniscule, partly because the 49ers and Chiefs are two of the league's best teams.

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This decision means Stidham will make the first start of his career on Sunday. Stidham was a 2020 fourth-round draft pick of the New England Patriots and the Raiders acquired him via trade back in May. The former Auburn star has thrown just 61 passes in his pro career. He's completed eight of 13 pass attempts in limited snaps over three appearances with the Raiders this season.

Carr has not played particularly well in 2022. He has completed just 60.8 percent of his passes -- the lowest of his career outside of his 2014 rookie campaign. Carr also leads the league with 14 interceptions, and he was picked off three times in a 13-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 16. He has been intercepted nine times in the last five games.

While benching Carr makes sense based on his performance, it's also a smart move for the Raiders in regards to maintaining his trade value for the offseason. The Raiders will have a decision to make with Carr in the coming months, as ESPN's Field Yates and Jeremy Fowler detail below:

While the Raiders signed Derek Carr to a 3-year, $121.5M extension this past offseason, the team would incur a dead cap hit of $5.625M if cut/traded this offseason. As far as QB deals go, that’s a minuscule amount.

Will be an interesting offseason for Las Vegas at QB.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) December 28, 2022

Sources: #Raiders have benched Derek Carr in part to preserve his health for a potential trade this offseason. Don't want to risk injury, and his market could heat up after the Super Bowl, sources say, though option to stay still on the table.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) December 28, 2022

Carr has proven he's not a Super Bowl-caliber quarterback, so it would be smart of the Raiders to explore other options after the 2022 season concludes.