New Reports Say Derek Carr "Being Heavily Shopped" at Combine

Derek Carr is one of the hottest topics not named Tom Brady this NFL offseason. It's become well-known at this point that Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden is interested in moving on from the 28-year old. He's merely waiting for the right opportunity to make the move. Already the team has been connected to Brady, Philip Rivers, and even Jameis Winston. For his part, Carr himself has enjoyed teasing people on Instagram with various photos about where he could end up. The Chicago Bears included.

GM Mike Mayock did his best down at the scouting combine to cool down those rumors. He stated he was "very happy" with Carr. While the team would obviously evaluate all positions looking for upgrades, he tried to make it seem like the Raiders were perfectly content sticking with the QB as their starter.

Except nobody was fooled. That was classic GM speak. A simple line like that wasn't going to unravel almost two months of significant rumors about the Raiders looking for an exit door. Sure enough, insider Benjamin Allbright of the Pro Football Network revealed things have begun to heat up in the past few days.

"Sources at the NFL Combine tell PFN Insider Ben Allbright that Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr is “being heavily shopped” to other teams. This news comes after Raiders GM Mike Mayock admitted during his press conference on Tuesday that the team is open to replacing Carr."

Bears might have a realistic shot at Derek Carr

Allbright indicated over a week ago that the Bears were quietly interested in Carr. If this new information is solid, then they are almost certainly one of the teams talking to the Raiders about a potential deal. Of course, much of this depends on what Las Vegas does in regards to finding a replacement. Brady is their top target and the all-time great is looking more and more like he will actually leave New England after 20 years of service.

If the Raiders got him, Carr would be out. The Bears would then have their opportunity. Some aren't sold on the idea that he's that much better of an option than Mitch Trubisky. Those people listen to the media way too much. Carr is an above-average quarterback. He's been to three Pro Bowls and topped 4,000 yards each of the past two years. People love to hold it against him for having just one winning season. They neglect to recall he's never played with a top 10 defense. Or even a top 20 one for that matter.

Chicago would be much better with him under center.