Las Vegas Raiders: Could Derek Carr be headed to Tampa Bay?
By Brad Weiss
The Las Vegas Raiders will not be getting Tom Brady, but his former team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, could be in the market for Derek Carr.
On Wednesday, Tom Brady took to social media to announce his retirement for ‘good,’ ending all the speculation that he could be headed to the Las Vegas Raiders. With the team moving on from Derek Carr, Brady was seen as a good fit for the Raiders based on his history with Josh McDaniels, but we can throw all those conspiracy theories out the window now.
Looking at the other side of the coin, Tampa Bay now becomes a place that could land Carr, a Pro Bowl quarterback the franchise has decided to move on from after nine seasons at the helm. Tampa Bay does not have much in terms of the quarterback position on the roster now, making them a very real possibility to land No. 4.
The only quarterback currently under contract on the Bucs roster is Kyle Trask, who the team drafted in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of the University of Florida. Trask is very raw, and has very little experience, so with Todd Bowles entering the 2023 NFL season on the hotseat, would he really roll the dice with Trask under center.
Tampa Bay has some solid draft capital, and enough talent on the roster to entice Carr to take a look their way. They also play in a very winnable division in the NFC South, a division Tampa Bay won last season with a below .500 regular season record.
Raiders running out of time with Derek Carr
With Carr making it to the Pro Bowl this season as an alternate, the time clock for the Raiders gets sped up a bit, as an injury in the game guarantees his contract for 2023. They have to make a decision on Carr in a hurry, and after Brady’s retirement, it is getting clearer that an upgrade is not coming this season.
That puts Josh McDaniels and David Ziegler in a peculiar situation, as another losing season, especially the way the team lost in 2022, could spell the end of at least McDaniels in the desert.
This would not be the first time a Raiders star has landed in Tampa Bay, and for Carr, this could be one of the better scenarios to go to. Overall, whether it is in a trade, or if he lands there after being released, Carr to Tampa Bay is a real possibility after the retirement of Brady.