Could Carr Drive the Redskins?

It's rumor season. Speculation abound and don't expect it to stop. One major national NFL Insider tried to connect the dots between the Redskins and a quarterback who doesn't seem to be in good standing with his current team.

© Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Many Redskins fans loathe Jason LaCanfora of CBS Sports. I can understand why but as someone who receives a lot of criticism for my work, I can sympathize and say that view is warped. 

LaCanfora is right a lot more than he is wrong and even though we are not friends, I respect what he's built and done. 

So when my pal Earl Forcey mentioned a piece from LaCanfora and the substance, I initially was unsure how much I wanted to do on it, but ultimately I feel that we should consider every option and then react. So here goes.

What might the starting QB situation look like in the NFL in 2020 if Tom Brady left New England? I take a look at how the dominos might fall in a year of possible unprecedented QB movement: https://t.co/xsZtseWLYc

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) January 22, 2020

In case you didn't read through - here's the section on the Redskins quarterback for 2020. 

Washington Redskins – Derek Carr. Owner Dan Snyder loves first round pick Dwayne Haskins, but new coach Ron Rivera, who has extensive power, has already publicly hedged his bets. Rivera's first hire, defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, is a champion of Carr's and they went to the playoffs together with Carr an MVP candidate. Yes, Alex Smith is still costing $19M, but Snyder could restructure Carr's deal easily to bring his 2020 cap hit down to like $7M and it's a long shot Smith ever plays again. Carr's contract is cheap enough to flip again down the road if need be.

Whoa! Derek Carr??? What in the $%&#!

First we start with this: The title of the story is "Every NFL team's projected 2020 starting QB: Where Tom Brady could land, and what it means for the other 31."

It should be pointed out this is a prediction piece. An opinion column based on some educated hunches and conversations with sources around the league that is just chatter, prediction and opinions more than concrete, hard-core information. 

LaCanfora has the now Las Vegas Raiders going with Jameis Winston. I can't see Jon Gruden being able to deal with Winston's long-running turnover issues. I just can't see it. 

However, could Gruden move on from Carr? Yes of course. 

He has a cap number of $21.5 million and a non guaranteed base salary of $18.9 million, per OverTheCap.com.

The Raiders would face a dead money hit of $5 million and a savings of $16 million if they were to move on from him (cut/trade) before June 1st. 

If via trade, the Redskins would have to absorb that base salary of nearly $19 million which is not happening, considering the cap charge of Alex Smith ($21 M) and Dwayne Haskins cap charge. 

Unless the Raiders would cover a part of Carr's salary like the Broncos did with Case Keenum. 

Or as LaCanfora suggests if somehow the Redskins were to restructure Carr's deal to lower the 2020 cap number. 

Carr had a completion percentage of 70.4% last year and a career 64.0% rate.

He threw for 4.054 yards in 2019 and 22, 793 yards in his career. 

His 7.9 yards per attempt last year was a full yard on average over his career number. 

Carr threw for 21 touchdowns last year and 143 in his career. He had eight interceptions in 2019 and 62 in his career. 

Another issue is how much the Redskins would have to pony up in trade compensation? If it's Josh Norman, fine. 

If it's a blue-chip young player - the Redskins don't have many of those. 

Oh and the other issue is this: If you make a trade for Carr or someone of starting quality - you're creating a circus of media attention. 

The Redskins are already walking a dangerously thin line here with the fan base and any perceived insult or drama when it comes to Haskins, could create unnecessary drama. 

Chris Russell is the Publisher of Maven & Sports Illustrated's Washington Redskins channel. He can be heard on 106.7 The FAN in the Washington D.C. area and world-wide on Radio.com. Chris also hosts the "Locked on Redskins" Podcast and can be read via subscription to Warpath Magazine. You can e-mail Chris at russellmania09@Gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @Russellmania621.