The San Francisco 49ers might have a little easier time earning their ninth consecutive win of the season. Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels announced that he is benching quarterback Derek Carr in favor of Jarrett Stidham, calling it "an opportunity to evaluate a younger player."
Josh McDaniels said #Raiders are going to start Jarrett Stidham at QB over Derek Carr because "it's an opportunity to evaluate a younger player."
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) December 28, 2022
Carr's future could be mirky.
"There is a lot to be sorted once the season is over," McDaniels noted.
This is big: The #Raiders are benching Derek Carr and will start Jarrett Stidham vs. the #49ers.
Carr has $40.4M that becomes guaranteed if he can't pass a physical. Vegas could get out of his contract this offseason — and this seems to be a step towards that happening.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 28, 2022
Carr leads the league with 14 interceptions. Las Vegas is 6-9 this season with the veteran quarterback. Carr has completed under 61 percent of for 3,522 yards, 24 touchdowns, and earned a passer rating of 86.3, his lowest since 2014.
Stidham has completed only 52.5 percent of his passes for 342 yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions since the New England Patriots made him a fourth-round draft pick in 2019. The Raiders traded for Stidham in May, reuniting him with McDaniels, the Patriots' former offensive coordinator.
"He can make every throw, similar to Carr in that way," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday of Stidham. "But he hasn't been out there a lot, so hopefully, we'll confuse him, make it tough on him."
Shanahan and the 49ers had an opportunity to evaluate Stidham at the Senior Bowl in 2019.
"I remember we really liked how he threw," Shanahan said. "I liked him as a guy, just working with him. I never enjoy going to Mobile that time of year, so it's just not a good feeling. It means you didn't do very well, and you really want a break, and you don't get it. But I do remember enjoying him.
"I know he was a talented player that we all believed was going to get drafted, and I was not surprised that New England took him."
Carr being out doesn't mean the 49ers are taking the Raiders lightly. The 49ers remain in contention for the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs but need to keep winning and hope for the Minnesota Vikings to stumble.
"I see some great players who can beat you," Shanahan said of the Carr-less Raiders. "That's why I think they've had a chance in so many games this year, and they have been close. There's just a few [plays], the ball bouncing a different way, to being locked in as a playoff team right now.
"I know they're sitting down their quarterback, who I think is a real good player, but they also got three big-time weapons there on offense. Their defensive end in [Maxx] Crosby is playing as, probably, the second-best defensive player in the league, at least that I've seen this year. I think he's been unbelievable. So they've got some guys that can wreck games, so you better be on your stuff regardless."