Jarrett Stidham will take over as the starting quarterback for the Raiders in Week 17, and he gives the team the best chance to win out.
The Derek Carr era could be coming to an end for a team that he called home for the last 9 seasons. Early Wednesday afternoon it was announced that the Raiders would be starting backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham against the San Fransisco 49ers this Sunday, effectively benching starter Derek Carr.
As soon as the Raiders lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Steelers on Christmas Eve, talks of what the Raiders would do with Carr started to rumble. Given his contract situation, it wasn’t out of the question that he might be sat the remainder of the season because an injury would guarantee a contract that the front office didn’t have to make a decision on until early February.
It does make the decision a little bit easier when you consider who he has behind him. No one was surprised when new head coach Josh McDaniels went out and got his former Patriot quarterback Jarrett Stidham to be the backup in Las Vegas. Few things have made sense this year when it comes to the Raiders season up unto this point.
What they’ve decided to do with benching Carr and starting Stidham however, does make sense and is why I think gives them the best chance to win out and do their part in potentially snagging the last wild card spot.