5 reasons why Derek Carr should be the top QB target for the NY Jets

4. The price is right

This is an important one for the Jets. Not only is Carr's contract not nearly as intimidating as it looks on paper, but the cost of acquiring him in a trade (if he's not released) would likely be minimal.

The Raiders have no leverage here. Every team knows that they're essentially forced to move on by February 15th which significantly hurts his trade value. It's impossible to know exactly what the Jets would have to give up, but it'll be pennies compared to trade packages for Lamar Jackson and Aaron Rodgers.

On top of that, any team trading for Carr wouldn't be tied to him past 2023. His contract would essentially default to a one-year, $34.9 deal with team options through 2025. Releasing him after 2023 would incur a dead cap charge of just $5.6 million while saving nearly $30 million in cap space.

Carr is on a team-friendly deal and won't require many assets to acquire in a trade. The price is right in this situation, much more so than many of the Jets' other QB options.

5. The NY Jets can win with Derek Carr

Every NFL team is in search of the next Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, etc. It's why the Jets swung for the fences with someone like Zach Wilson. They hoped he would one day become the superstar franchise quarterback that they had been searching for.

Unfortunately, Wilson fell well short of expectations in New York and the Jets seem unlikely to look for his successor in the draft. There aren't any superstar quarterbacks available on the market, save for an unlikely Lamar Jackson arrival at Florham Park.

The good news is that this Jets' roster doesn't need a superstar quarterback to be competitive — they proved that in 2022. Even marginal quarterback play this season and the Jets are likely in the postseason.

This Jets team can win with Carr. They can make the playoffs and even compete for a championship if they plug a few more holes on the roster.

That, more than anything else, is what's most important.