Las Vegas Raiders: Biggest what-ifs of Derek Carr’s career

Nov 20, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) celebrates the overtime win over the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 20, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) celebrates the overtime win over the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 26, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) reacts next to offensive tackle Donald Penn (72) after completing a 54 yard pass for a first down against the Denver Broncos in the fourth quarter at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 26, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) reacts next to offensive tackle Donald Penn (72) after completing a 54 yard pass for a first down against the Denver Broncos in the fourth quarter at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /

Derek Carr’s time with the Raiders appears to be over so let’s take a look at some of the biggest what-ifs of his career so far.

Derek Carr’s career with the Las Vegas Raiders has been full of ups and downs. From being drafted to his favorite team to being kicked to the curb after nine years, there has been plenty of drama and big what-if scenarios in between.

This can be said about any quarterback but it’s difficult to name one that faced as much adversity and organizational change as Carr. Perhaps Matthew Stafford suffered through as much incompetence as Carr did, but nothing that happened in Detroit registers on the Raiders’ drama scale.

Stafford, just like Carr, went through his fair share of coaches and coordinators but he never had a coach fired for sending racist emails or a star wide receiver released for committing a heinous crime. We can ask ourselves what Derek Carr’s career would have looked like had some of these things not happened but out of respect for the victims of Henry Ruggs’s crime, we won’t dwell on that awful situation.

We will stick to football matters when looking at these what-if scenarios and we can dive right in with the day that set Carr on his course as the Raiders’ franchise quarterback. If you’d like to hear a little more about these what-ifs, check out The 40/40 Vision Podcast episode done on this same topic.