Best odds to be the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback in 2022
By Greg Newland
Potential Cleveland Browns Quarterback No. 3 – Derek Carr
A real wild-card quarterback right now is Derek Carr. He led the Las Vegas Raiders to the playoffs and then lost in the first round to the Cincinnati Bengals. After going 10-7, throwing for over 4,800 yards and 23 touchdowns, are the Raiders really going to move on from him?
The reason I have him as the No. 3 possibility, is there’s too much unknown. Not only do the Raiders not have a general manager, but there are also a ton of question marks about who their head coach will be in 2022 as well.
Why Las Vegas makes sense is they could be interested in a trade involving Baker Mayfield. Both quarterbacks have one year left, and both cap hits are around the $19 million area. Mayfield’s contract is fully guaranteed, while Carr has no dead money on his deal.
Carr has three pro-bowl seasons under his belt, but only two 10 plus win seasons. The body of work is longer, but I’m not sure how much better he is than Mayfield. I do like his ability to throw the football, but I wouldn’t consider him a huge upgrade either.
Unfortunately, the Cleveland Browns would likely need to give Mayfield and a pick (likely a third or fourth-rounder) to get this deal done. The other downside for the Browns, re-signing Carr will take a chunk of money.
I’m torn on this one. I think a change for both guys would be good, but I’m not sold he’s a huge upgrade at the position.