You could’ve benched him without completely burning and blowing up the bridge.
Example:
“we are out of playoff contention. We are going to bench you because we want to get a look at our young players. You can stay with the team.” Instead of: “we’ve missed the playoffs and we are going to bench you because we are afraid you will get hurt and your contract will become guaranteed for next year. Go home because you will become a distraction”.
Dude Carson Wentz got a 2nd rounder last year. CARSON WENTZ. The only qb worth a damn on the market is AR and you’ll have to trade a lot for him. When the only qb options in 2023 are rookie, Jimmy G, and Brissett, Derek Carr has tons of value. Even at an inflated contract (He has a high base salary so you can renogatiate his contract anyway after trading for him).
I can’t think of a worse way they played this. If they gave off the SLIGHT illusion that DC could return next year, you give yourself so much more leverage. The Colts, Jets, Panthers, Commanders and Saints are all desperate for QBs. All those teams think they are a vet qb away from winning. 1 or 2 of those teams might start a rookie but that still leaves other trade candidates. Now we lose an asset for nothing all because they played it wrong.