HENDERSON, Nev. – Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has missed just three games in nine years, all through injury.
Now, for the first time, he won’t play because coach Josh McDaniels said Wednesday it was offensive performance reasons.
Not only will McDaniels start Jarrett Stidham for the past two weeks, including Sunday’s home game against the San Francisco 49ers, but Carr will also be inactive. Practice team quarterback Chase Garbers will be the backup.
The Raiders (6-9) have lost two of their last three games against everyone but are out of the playoff race just a year into the postseason.
Carr has completed no more than 55 percent of his passes and thrown seven interceptions and six touchdown passes in his last four games.
“I don’t think anyone feels like we did enough offensively in some of these games,” McDaniels said. “We didn’t get enough points so I don’t think anyone is really happy with what we’ve achieved.”
By not playing Carr, the Raiders eliminate the possibility of a serious injury affecting his contract status. The club has by February 15 to decide whether to release or trade Carr – who has a no-trade clause but could waive it – or if he would receive $33 million for 2023. A serious breach would guarantee that money plus another $7.5 million for 2024.
Even before the announcement on Wednesday, there were serious questions whether the Raiders wanted to continue investing in a quarterback which has led the team to only two playoff appearances.
“We are all responsible for where we are and I think this (decision) is more of an opportunity to see a guy that we don’t see playing against a couple of good teams in a situation like this, really good teams,” said McDaniels. “Derek played a lot of football. There’s a lot of evaluation here when the season is over, how we’ve made the most progress, what makes the most sense for everyone and how we’re progressing.
“We knew it was going to happen. Obviously we were hoping to be in a different scenario than we are currently, but no decision has been made yet. Today there is no finality. That’s the decision we came up with after talking and thinking about it. It would be an opportunity for us to see what we have in (Stidham).”
McDaniels is more than familiar with Stidham, who has spent the past three seasons with the New England Patriots. McDaniels was the offensive coordinator for the Patriots.
Including three games with the Raiders this season, Stidham has completed 32 of 61 passes for 342 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions. He never started.
Carr has missed just two regular season starts and one in the playoffs. He was just 165 yards from overtaking Dan Marino (35,386) for third-most passing yards in the first nine seasons of a career.
“These aren’t easy conversations,” McDaniels said of his conversation with Carr. “I couldn’t be more flattering to him or the way he handled it. This is a class A-1 human. Obviously he’s meant a lot to this place for a long time and we’ll see how it goes. I’m not going to sit here and predict the future. A lot can happen. We’re going to take these things one day at a time. Now we’re preparing for the 49ers.”
NOTES: McDaniels also said defensive lineman Chandler Jones (elbow) and linebacker Denzel Perryman (shoulder) were placed on season-ending injured reserve. … Jones played better after a slow start with 4 1/2 sacks and three tackles for the loss. He also returned an ill-advised lateral 48 yards for a touchdown in the last game two weeks ago to beat the Patriots. … Perryman leads the Raiders with 83 tackles and his 14 tackles for loss is second.
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