The moment it was announced that Derek Carr signed a three year extension worth $121.5 million with the Raiders, I knew that there was gonna be plenty of snark. That contract places Carr as the fifth highest paid player by yearly average salary and he's not widely considered to be an elite player. Sure, he's not Rodgers, Mahomes, Allen, etc. He is easily in the top half.
I think that this was a good move for the Raiders and it's not just because Carr put up four consecutive 4,000+ yard seasons.
I think it's hard to deny that Carr is one of the primary reasons why the Raiders managed to make the playoffs last season. Having your head coach fired mid-season is tough to overcome. You compound that with how Carr handled the Henry Ruggs situation and Damon Arnette issue showed a lot of maturity.
Beyond all else, every team in the NFL has to face the lack of certainty that comes with how a 21 year-old will handle suddenly becoming a millionaire. The Raiders have to deal with that uncertainty while also moving their players out to Vegas. That's where having a guy like Carr becomes a relief for a team. Somebody with Carr's maturity and values isn't easy to come by and he's the kind of person who can be rich in Vegas and reliably not get caught snorting cocaine off a hooker.
There might be guys who will perform better on the field. It's safe to say that nobody from this draft class will be better than Carr. Deshaun Watson might be better and he was on the move; but, if he couldn't keep himself out of trouble in Houston, what are the odds that he could handle Vegas? Russell Wilson might have been a good trade for them before he went to Denver; but, I'm not convinced that Wilson would be a large enough improvement to justify everything else the Raiders would have had to trade for him. I don't think that anybody else who would be a clear upgrade over Carr is moving. The Raiders clearly aren't going through a rebuild being that they just added one of the best receivers and an elite edge rusher. Now isn't the time for the Raiders to start seeking to make a change at quarterback.