Raiders release Derek Carr; How much interest will the Jets have?

The first major move of the NFL offseason has been made. As expected, the Las Vegas Raiders have released long-time quarterback Derek Carr.

It is worth noting that Carr is a free agent right now. He can sign with a new team whenever he wants. He does not need to wait for the new league year to begin in March because his contract isn’t expiring. It is terminated.

This will likely set up a competition to bring in the veteran signal caller among numerous quarterback needy teams.

The Jets are expected to have some degree of interest. Albert Beer did indicate in a recent article that they were the only team other than the Saints to contact the Raiders about Carr’s availability in a trade.

Of course the conventional wisdom is that Carr is the team’s second choice behind Aaron Rodgers. The timing could be difficult because Carr is likely to have a new team before Rodgers announces what he’s doing.

Breer speculated on the potential outcome.

Right now, Rodgers’s plans remain up in the air, and because of that, the market for Carr could be weighed down a little by teams that might figure that staying alive for Rodgers is better than signing Carr.

If you’re the Jets, do you go all in on Carr? Or do you wait for Rodgers? Those are the questions, and as we’ve written in this space before, the Jets, buoyed by owner Woody Johnson’s feeling that the team is getting closer to being a real contender, are planning to take the big swing, so I’d be surprised (even though they did talk to the Raiders about Carr) if they settled for the double now with a chance to hit a home run later.

This of course is only speculation. We now wait to see the quarterback the Jets land this offseason.