Raiders Starting Quarterback Week 1 2023 NFL odds: Tom Brady Leads List

Last week in this space, we looked at odds for the next team of Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr after he was benched for the final two games of the season by first-year head coach Josh McDaniels.

Carr and McDaniels agreed that the quarterback would be a distraction if he stayed with the team in the final two games, so he is no longer with the club. No later than three days after Super Bowl 57 (for contract reasons), Carr will almost surely have a new home via trade. The New York Jets were the betting favorites last week and remain so.

So the question is who starts under center in Week 1 next season for Las Vegas? This is talented roster that should contend for a playoff spot with competent QB play, and it will be a very desirable place to play for obvious city reasons, no state income tax in Nevada and the team having arguably the NFL’s best receiver in Davante Adams.

Let’s break down the favorites for the Raiders’ QB to open next season if not Carr.

Davis May Try Again For Brady

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) attempts a pass during a NFL divisional playoff football game between the Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, January 23, 2022 in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Menendez)

Team owner Mark Davis reportedly wanted to sign Tom Brady (+275 favorite) when the GOAT was leaving New England following the 2020 season and Brady was interested in heading to the desert, but then-coach Jon Gruden put the kibosh on that and Gruden had all the power. He’s long gone now and Brady might be even more intrigued now that McDaniels is the head coach because he was TB12’s long-time offensive coordinator with the New England Patriots.

Brady will be a free agent after this season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so it would cost the Silver & Black nothing other than money. Ditto San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (+350), who figures to be pursued by a handful of teams that also are linked with Carr.

Jarrett Stidham (+400) was a 2019 fourth-round pick by the Patriots, and in limited backup action there McDaniels liked what he saw so Las Vegas traded a sixth-round pick to New England this past May for Stidham, who didn’t play in 2021 because of back surgery. Stidham started for Carr in Week 17 and nearly led an upset of the 49ers, completing 23-for-34 for 365 yards, three TDs and two picks in an OT loss. He will start the season finale vs. Kansas City.

Three potential first-round draft picks in 2023 draft are next in Florida’s Anthony Richardson (+700), Ohio State’s CJ Stroud (+750) and Kentucky’s Will Levis (+900). As things stand, Las Vegas would pick eighth overall in the first round. Stroud probably won’t be there, but the other two should be.

Two long-shot options: Lamar Jackson (+1200) and Aaron Rodgers (+2200), both former NFL MVPs.