Raiders Cut Derek Carr; Should Commanders Sign?

Derek Carr's time with the Las Vegas Raiders is over, so should the Commanders look at bringing in the quarterback?

The quarterback position has been one the Washington Commanders have yet to get right since the days of Robert Griffin III. Albeit fleetingly, RGIII was seen as the player to take Washington forward.

Since then, it has been a revolving door at quarterback, but now with several free-agent stars available, is it time to strike for Ron Rivera's team? 

If the answer is yes, then a move for Derek Carr wouldn't be the worst idea.

Despite Sam Howell being the "likely" starter according to Rivera, interest in Carr should be near the top of the priority list.

What makes this move even more viable for Washington is that given Carr wants to be released by the Las Vegas Raiders, it will not have to part with any draft picks to secure his services. That's a win.

The only potential stumbling block could be the salary that Carr could demand. He signed a three-year, $121,500,000 contract with the Raiders per spotrac.com, and he is slated to have a $32.9 million base salary in 2023.

But a new deal can be agreed upon with less money.

But it is doubtful that Carr will want any less than that when he signs with a new team, so could the Commanders stomach that kind of money for him?

If Washington releases Carson Wentz from his current deal (which many think will happen), given he has no guaranteed money, that will save $26.2 million on its cap for the 2023/24 season. It would also give the Commanders the sixth-highest cap space in the league at the time of writing.

Keep in mind that is also without restructuring other deals. 

Defensive star Daron Payne needs to be paid as well, so there is another wrinkle that needs to be taken into consideration.

Washington was close to being a playoff team last season (and should have been, in truth), and adding Carr could be the cherry on top. Jack Del Rio's defense will only get better, and offensively, Washington has weapons in Jahan Dotson, Terry McLaurin, and Curtis Samuel at Carr's disposal.

It is certainly an idea that the Washington front office should consider, as the quarterback position seems to be the only thing holding this team back from making it into the playoffs.

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