Could Raiders trade Derek Carr and keep Marcus Mariota instead?

Could Raiders trade Derek Carr and keep Marcus Mariota instead?

Derek Carr is coming off the best season of his career with the Las Vegas Raiders. Not only did he have a career-high in yards per attempt and passer rating, but he’s now strung together two excellent seasons and the perception around him has changed drastically around the NFL.

With his recent level of play, it has attracted other quarterback-needy teams to call the Raiders. In an article by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, they mentioned that several teams have called the Raiders about trading for Carr and they aren’t hanging up the phones.

“Teams have been calling the Raiders to gauge interest in trading for Carr, and at least right now, the team appears open to considering it in some form or fashion — as long as it can replace him with someone on the same level.”

While the (wild) speculation is that the Raiders could be making a run at Deshaun Watson, they likely don’t have the ammo, even with Carr trade, to make that happen. And with Watson having a no-trade clause, he would have to sign off on the deal anyway and it is unknown if he even wants to come to the Raiders.

However, it is possible that Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden are seeing what they could get in a trade for Carr and then build around Marcus Mariota. Mariota is under contract for the 2021 season and his ability to make plays with his legs has always been something Gruden has loved about him.

If some team, like the Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts or Washington Football Team was willing to surrender multiple first-round picks and absorb Carr’s salary, would the Raiders then be willing to move on? It’s not all that hard to fathom as Mariota did show enough in Week 16 to have the front office excited.

However, don’t expect the Raiders to move on from Carr unless they receive a Matthew Stafford-like package in return. Otherwise, they will continue to build around their franchise quarterback and focus on retooling the defense.

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