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

The NY Jets will be searching for a solution at the quarterback position yet again this offseason, and there will be no shortage of potential options. Of the realistic targets, however, Derek Carr is the most appealing.

The nine-year NFL veteran will be looking for a new home this offseason after a near-decade spent with the Raiders organization. A quarterback of his caliber is sure to have his fair share of suitors, but the Jets should be at the top of that list.

The Zach Wilson era is seemingly over after less than two full years while the Mike White experiment came to a crashing halt this past Sunday.

The Jets need a capable quarterback who can help them win some games. After all, this is an organization that hasn't made the playoffs in 12 years now. Over those 12 years, Jets quarterbacks have posted an NFL-worst 76.1 passer rating.

It's clear that the Jets need a quarterback, and Carr makes the most sense.

1. Derek Carr has been a consistent top-15 quarterback

For all of Carr's criticisms, it's hard to ignore the success he's found with the Raiders despite being saddled with atrocious defenses and poor offensive lines. Carr ranks top-15 in pretty much every stat since 2015.

He's finished no worse than 14th in QBR in each of the last four seasons, has the 10th-lowest interception rate in the league since 2015, and has posted the 13th-best completion percentage in that time frame as well.

By all metrics, Carr is a top 12-15 quarterback. As for his career 63-79 record, one might point to the fact that Carr has literally never had a top-20 defense in his entire time in the NFL. Carr puts up points — his organization has consistently let him down.

Derek Carr isn't Patrick Mahomes and he never will be, but he's a very good quarterback who would immediately make the Jets legitimate contenders. That much shouldn't really be up for debate.

2. Derek Carr is better than any NY Jets quarterback in decades

Beggars can't be choosers, and that much is true for the Jets this offseason. This is an organization that has quite literally been saddled with the worst quarterback in the NFL over the last decade-plus.

The Jets have ranked dead-last in both QBR and completion percentage in each of the last two seasons and, save for Ryan Fitzpatrick's fluke 2015 season, it's hard to remember the last time the Jets had a season of legitimately good quarterback play.

As Michael Nania of Jets X Factor notes, Carr has averaged 3,994 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions per season since 2015. Only one quarterback in Jets history has ever thrown from 3,900 yards and 25 touchdowns, Joe Namath, and he threw 28 interceptions that year.

Carr's average season is better than almost anything the Jets, as a franchise, have ever seen from the quarterback position. Even Carr at his worst is significantly better than anything the Jets have seen in recent years.

Carr would be a significant upgrade, much more so than many probably realize.

3. Derek Carr is the best realistic option for the NY Jets on the market

Lamar Jackson is obviously a pipedream. If the Jets could find a way to add the former MVP to their roster this offseason, there would be no debate about who the best option is. It would be Jackson, hands down.

Unfortunately, we're not talking about pipedreams. The Jets don't really have the luxury of chasing a big name like Jackson with no Plan B to fall back on. A pursuit of Jackson would likely take months and there's absolutely no guarantee he gets moved or that the Jets would be the top landing spot.

With Derek Carr, that wouldn't be a concern. Carr's 2023 salary and a portion of his 2024 salary become guaranteed three days after the Super Bowl. If and when he's traded/released it will happen next month.

The Jets don't have to worry about a bidding war for Jackson. They don't have to worry about convincing Tom Brady to return to the northeast or prying Aaron Rodgers and his massive contract away from the Green Bay Packers.

Of all the realistic options (Jimmy Garoppolo, Gardner Minshew, Jared Goff?, Ryan Tannehill?, etc.), Carr is the best of the bunch.

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.