Patriots

Patriots reportedly considered trading for Derek Carr prior to 2021 season

Josh McDaniels is reportedly a big fan of Derek Carr.

Derek Carr has a big fan in Josh McDaniels. The Associated Press

January 30, 2022

Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler’s first order of business in Las Vegas likely won’t involve the Raiders’ quarterback situation.

McDaniels is such a fan of Derek Carr that he and the Patriots thought about trading for him when the team had a hole at quarterback last offseason, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

“For McDaniels, he now inherits a quarterback in Derek Carr that he’s always liked,” Rapoport said on NFL Network on Sunday. “In fact, the Patriots considered trading for Carr before the season. Now, McDaniels and Ziegler get him. A new day in Las Vegas.”

During the quarterback carousel in the 2021 offseason, Carr was one of several veterans speculated to be an answer to the Patriots’ quarterback question. And the Raiders reportedly were fielding calls for the quarterback last offseason.

What the price would’ve been though remains anyone’s guess. But it’s fair to assume that it would’ve cost at least a first-round pick, as Matthew Stafford was traded for two first-round picks and Carson Wentz was moved for a conditional first-round pick.

Of course, the Raiders kept Carr and the Patriots ultimately waited until the draft to solve their quarterback problem, selecting Mac Jones with their first-round pick. While Carr threw for a considerably more yards than Jones (4,804 to Jones’s 3,801), the two quarterbacks had similar seasons outside of that. Carr threw for 23 touchdowns while Jones had 22 passing touchdowns. Carr threw one more interception (14) than Jones (13). They had similar passer ratings (Carr’s was 94.0 to Jones’s 92.5) and were both among the best in the league in completion percentage (68.4 for Carr and 67.6 for Jones).

Not to mention, both quarterbacks helped their teams get to the playoffs via the wild card with 10-7 records.