Raiders asking price in Derek Carr trade reportedly revealed

It’s no secret that a top priority for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason will be figuring out what to do at quarterback. Tom Brady has retired, and if he’s going to make yet another return to the NFL it certainly won’t be with the Bucs this time around.

That means Tampa Bay needs to sort through its other options, one of which includes making a trade for an available veteran. Aaron Rodgers and Lamar Jackson are technically available but not to the Bucs; Jackson will probably get franchise tagged in Baltimore and the Packers have said they won’t trade Rodgers to an NFC team.

One rumored landing spot for Rodgers is Las Vegas, a team with a vacancy despite having a Pro Bowl quarterback still on its roster. Derek Carr’s time with the Raiders has come to an end, and whether or not Rodgers is the guy under center in Vegas next year means little to what happens to Carr.

Carr is gone, full stop. He’s played his last down in Las Vegas and there is a zero percent chance he returns.

The question is where he will land this offseason. Tampa Bay has been linked to him ever since his falling out with the Raiders became official, and that connection has only intensified after Brady’s retirement.

Buccaneers rumors: Raiders asking price for Derek Carr trade revealed

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Raiders have a ‘modest’ asking price for Carr and would likely accept a third-round pick in a deal for him.

Putting pressure on the situation is the fact that the New Orleans Saints appear to be at the front of the line.

One of the potential roadblocks for the Bucs acquiring Carr was compensation. If all it ends up taking to acquire Carr is a package headlined by a third-round pick, Tampa Bay is very much alive in the hunt to trade for him.

Yahoo! Sports NFL insider Charles Robinson recently appeared on the You Pod To Win The Game podcast and detailed why Tampa Bay might be incentivized to make a deal for Carr.

“Look, I think if you’re Todd Bowles, you’re sitting there going, I don’t know if I survive a reboot,” Robinson said. “Any coach in that position is sitting there going I gotta keep trying to win now. I don’t want to do a reboot, because I won’t make it and that will potentially be my last head job in the NFL.”

Another considerable hurdle to clear involves the salary cap. Tampa Bay is roughly $55 million over the cap, and some tough decisions need to be made this offseason. If the Bucs are indeed going to hold off a rebuild, money will likely need to be spent bringing back guys like Lavonte David and Akiem Hicks and that’s before determining what to do with existing contracts for bubble players like Leonard Fournette and Donovan Smith.

Assuming the Bucs can make the money work — and it can’t be overstated how big of a challenge will be — then the front office has to be thrilled with Las Vegas’ asking price for Carr.

Of course, there will be other teams interested at that price. The Saints are already rumored to be at the front of the line, and there are teams like the Jets, Panthers, Commanders, Titans, and Falcons could get involved and edge out the Bucs.

Carr’s market is saturated, but it’s starting to look like there’s a decent chance for success of Tampa Bay wants to shoot its shot.