The Las Vegas Raiders are once again looking to rebuild this offseason after enduring a miserable 2025 campaign. The team’s decision to hire Pete Carroll as their new head coach and reunite him with his former quarterback, Geno Smith, backfired in spectacular fashion. Carroll got fired after just one year with the team, while Smith is almost certainly not going to be the team’s starting quarterback come Week 1 of the 2026 season.
Once Super Bowl LX wraps up, the Raiders are set to hire Seattle Seahawks‘ offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak to be their new head coach, with the expectation then being that the team will select Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. However, Las Vegas received an intriguing update on one of its former quarterbacks, Derek Carr, that could throw a wrinkle into its plans.
Derek Carr Reportedly Eyeing NFL Comeback
A second-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, Carr spent the first nine years of his career with the Raiders, and he turned himself into one of the most consistent quarterbacks in the league during his time in town. Carr earned four Pro Bowl selections while with Las Vegas and helped make the team as competitive as it has been over the past decade or so.
After hitting the open market in 2023, Carr signed a four-year, $150 million contract with the New Orleans Saints. Injuries and poor performances limited Carr’s effectiveness with his new squad, and he ended up surprisingly retiring last offseason after deciding to undergo surgery on a shoulder injury, which would have forced him to miss the entire 2025 season.
It always seemed like there was a shot that Carr would consider unretiring and returning to the NFL, and sure enough, those rumors have begun to emerge. Now that he has fully recovered from his shoulder injury, Carr is reportedly open to making a return to the NFL, but only if it’s for a situation that he deems to be the right fit for himself.
“An intriguing QB option to watch this offseason, as Derek Carr could unretire for the right situation and coaching staff, per The Insiders,” Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported in a post on X.
Should the Raiders Consider Reuniting with Derek Carr?
GettyFormer Las Vegas Raiders QB Derek Carr.
Carr has openly joked about the idea of returning to the Raiders, especially now that Kubiak is set to take over as the team’s new head coach. With Las Vegas locking in on Mendoza, though, a reunion with Carr becomes very unlikely. As a result, if Carr were to return, he would be joining a completely new team, as he’s no longer a part of the Saints’ future, even though he is still technically under contract with them.
There are several teams expected to be looking for a potential bridge quarterback this offseason, with the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins, and Minnesota Vikings all potentially being landing spots for Carr. If he’s serious about unretiring, Carr will have options available to him this offseason, so it looks like the former Raiders’ star quarterback could be on the field by the time the 2026 campaign rolls around.
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