Derek Carr Next Team Odds: Out of the Desert, Into the Big Apple?

After nine seasons, a handful of playoff trips, and even some franchise records, Derek Carr and the Las Vegas Raiders will officially part ways in the near future.  

The divorce between quarterback and team comes after Josh McDaniels and Vegas brass made the decision to move on before the end of the regular season, sitting him in favor of Jarrett Stidham.

A long-anticipated breakup meant potential suitors were quickly identified, and NFL odds for Carr's next spot quickly followed. We've got the odds and the spotlight on some favorites below.

Derek Carr next team odds

Team	Odds
New York Jets	+350
New Orleans Saints	+400
Indianapolis Colts	+450
Tennessee Titans	+800
Washington Commanders	+900
New England Patriots	+1,100
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	+1,200
Carolina Panthers	+1,200
Houston Texans	+1,800
New York Giants	+2,000
Atlanta Falcons	+2,000
Seattle Seahawks	+2,500
Pittsburgh Steelers	+2,500
Green Bay Packers	+3,000
Baltimore Ravens	+3,000
Miami Dolphins	+3,000

Odds courtesy of DraftKings, as of January 25, 2023.

Derek Carr's situation at a glance

After years of a lukewarm marriage between Derek Carr and the Raiders, across multiple regimes, that tepid union turned outright cold in 2022. Josh McDaniels & Co. unceremoniously moved on from Carr, the franchise's all-time leading passer, with a pair of games left in the season.

Any injury to Carr would've triggered guarantees that would've made moving on from him prohibitive for a team attempting to be competitive. Instead, the Raiders can move on from their long-time starter, whether it's via release or trade, and incur a modest dead money hit of $5.6 million, with $29.25M in cap savings.  

Any trade for Carr could come awfully quick, with the dead time between championship weekend becoming a bit of a QB-trade window in recent years. Washington acquired Alex Smith from the Chiefs on Jan. 30, 2018, and three years later the Rams and Lions agreed to the Matthew Stafford-Jared Goff swap, on Jan. 31, 2021.

One would think, the abrupt nature of Carr's benching aside, the Raiders would want to do right by their long-time starter and find him a new home as quickly as possible. 

Favorites to acquire Derek Carr

New York Jets (+350)

The Jets are among the favorites to land Carr for the same reason they are sitting around the top of next team odds for both Aaron Rodgers and Lamar Jackson: the fit is obvious.  

New York boasts a strong defense, a well-built offensive line, and an offense not short on weapons. It's not difficult to imagine Gang Green getting ready for a game on Sunday, had they had adequate QB play. Carr can certainly provide them with that. 

New Orleans Saints (+400)

With New Orleans running it back in 2023 with Dennis Allen and the bones of Sean Payton's staff, a veteran quarterback would make sense for the Saints — especially seeing as that's exactly what they did in '22, with a two-headed monster (monster?) of Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston.

Carr's an upgrade on either of those flawed passers and he certainly would have support in the Big Easy, with Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and more in place. The Saints could find it hard to further bolster their defense and offensive line after a potential Carr trade, however, as they're already down their first-round pick in '23. 

Funnily enough, Allen was actually Carr's first head coach in the NFL — for four games, before he was fired at the quarter mark of 2014.   

Indianapolis Colts (+450)

Dogs and fleas. Peanut butter and jam. Kentucky and the Kentucky Derby. Some things in life are just inseparable, and that extends to the Indianapolis Colts and retread quarterbacks.

Carr would be Indy's best passer yet in its perpetual search to replace Andrew Luck but he'd also be an uninspiring follow-up to the Philip Rivers-Carson Wentz-Matt Ryan trifecta. He would, however, check a couple of boxes for GM Chris Ballard in a trade: He's a veteran for a franchise not open to taking a step back, and he'd come at a relatively cheap price for trigger-shy Ballard. 

Though the Jaguars' uprising could shake this reality, the AFC South is seemingly anyone's division year after year. Retain Gus Bradley, who had the Colts' defense overachieving through a period of transition, keep Carr clean, and add another weapon or two to the offense, and Indy could be right back in the division fight. 

Tennessee Titans (+800)

After an ankle injury cut Ryan Tannehill's season short, the Titans could be looking for an upgrade under center in order to restore the brief dominance they found in the AFC South. Tannehill's contract certainly wouldn't be prohibitive to a Carr trade, as Tennessee can save $27 million in 2023 by designating Tannehill as a post-June 1 cut. 

Mike Vrabel is one of the league's best coaches and would no doubt have the Titans back in the playoff mix with steady QB play, while Carr could play a vital role in the development of promising young weapons Chig Okonkwo and Treylon Burks. 

Washington Commanders (+900)

The logic of doing so aside, Washington's running it back in '23 with Ron Rivera, and that would make a veteran QB a sensible acquisition — the team's declarations to potential OCs about Sam Howell be dammed. 

The Commanders overachieved in '22 while depending on Taylor Heinicke and the ghost of Carson Wentz under center. Rivera had his defense playing at a very high level by the end of the season (finished No. 7 in weighted DVOA) and the offense has an excellent wide receiver trio in place, with Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, and Curtis Samuel. 

Washington has to always avoid the possibility of tripping itself up, and a new offensive coordinator is needed, but a Carr-led Commanders team could quite easily be in the Wild Card mix next season.

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