The Raiders emerged from the 2014 draft with great selections in round one and round two. By rule, both players (Khalil Mack and Derek Carr) are eligible for new contracts after the 2016 regular season ends.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Raiders are currently expected to focus on signing Carr before Mack.
The reason is simple; the Raiders have the ability to extend Mack’s four-year deal to five, given that he was a first-round pick. And they surely will do so before the May 3 deadline for exercising the fifth-year option.
Carr, as a second-round pick, has only one year remaining on his rookie contract. And so, without a new deal, the Raiders would be required to use the franchise tag on Carr to keep him off the open market in 2018.
So what will it take to sign Carr? Much of it depends on the outcome of the season, including the team’s playoff success and whether Carr, a league MVP candidate, wins the award. He could be able to leverage a top-of-the-market deal, which would represent an investment of the kind the Raiders haven’t had to make in the salary-cap era.
As for Mack, it’s currently believed he has no problem with waiting in line, in part because there’s really nothing he can do. Holding out technically is an option, but the daily fines and bonus forfeitures make it financially unwise.
The broader question is whether Mack eventually becomes frustrated with Carr, if Mack believes Carr is unreasonably refusing to sign a new deal so that the Raiders can then focus on Mack.