Raiders bench Derek Carr with playoffs all but lost, $33M injury guarantee looming

The Las Vegas Raiders have benched quarterback Derek Carr with two games remaining in the regular season.

Head coach Josh McDaniels announced the news on Wednesday.

Jarrett Stidham will start in his place on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers and presumably in next week's regular season finale against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Raiders are still mathematically alive for the postseason at 6-9, but last week's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers all but eliminated them from reasonable contention.

Meanwhile, Carr is due $33 million next season that's fully guaranteed in case of injury. He'd also be guaranteed $7.5 million in 2024 in case of injury, The Athletic's Vic Tarfur reports. According to the report, the Raiders front office met on consecutive nights this week to discuss the course of action regarding Carr's injury guarantee.

"There's a lot to be sorted through once the season is over," McDaniels said.

Carr has been the Raiders starter for nine seasons since they drafted him in the second round of the 2014 draft. He's missed just two regular season games in his career. He missed both of those games because of injury.

The decision raises doubts about Carr's future with the franchise.