Why was Derek Carr benched? Raiders name Jarrett Stidham as QB1 for remainder of 2022 NFL season

The Las Vegas Raiders announced a quarterback change for the final two games of the season. Jarrett Stidham will start and Derek Carr will be benched.

The move comes after one of the worst seasons of Carr's career, in which he leads the league with 14 interceptions. Not even a trade for Davante Adams during the offseason sparked the Raiders' offense following the hire of Josh McDaniels as the head coach.

Jarrett Stidham, the new Raiders starter, worked with Josh McDaniels during his tenure with the New England Patriots, where McDaniels was the offensive coordinator. Stidham has thrown just 61 passes during his NFL career and never started a game, although he threw 44 passes for the Patriots during the 2020 season.

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Carr's poor play led to his benching

When the offseason started, the Raiders took an interesting approach. Instead of trying to hold back and getting themselves a better quarterback to compete with Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert, they tried to load up with superstars to build on their excellent 2021 season.

But with Josh McDaniels hired as head coach, the move backfired. The Raiders were inconsistent all season long and were never at a level to compete against the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers, with the quarterback himself having one of his worst seasons individually.

Los Angeles Chargers v Las Vegas Raiders

Leading the league in interceptions with 14, including three against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday Night, the Raiders decided to bench him to prevent an injury. Part of his contract becomes fully guaranteed in case he gets hurt.

Derek Carr's contract

The quarterback signed a 3-year, $121 million deal during the offseason but it was a team-friendly deal, with lots of base salary and a small signing bonus, which means less guaranteed money.

By benching Derek Carr and assuring he's not injured in the remaining two games, the Raiders can easily let him go once the new season begins. The dead cap for the 2023 season is just $5.6 million if he's released, saving just below $30 million in the salary cap and opening enough space for a quarterback move - let's not forget that Aaron Rodgers thought about joining the Raiders in 2022.

Superstar quarterbacks usually sign deals with a lot of guaranteed money. That was not the case here because the Raiders were never 100% confident in Carr. Now, they can easily close this page in their book and move on to new things.