The Las Vegas Raiders can still make the playoffs in 2022, but it would take a miracle.

A big reason why is because they still have two very good teams to play in the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs. Both teams are considered to be among the league's best, which obviously leaves zero room for guarantee when it comes to the much-needed wins.

With all that comes an intriguing topic that has made its way into other conversations regarding the Raiders' future: The question of whether or not Josh McDaniels should bench Derek Carr for the final two games.

I know, that sounds a little crazy, even if the Raiders have just a 1% chance of making the playoffs. Carr is undoubtedly the best quarterback on the roster and he's the leader of the team. He easily gives them the best shot at winning and doing what seems like the impossible.

99% of the time, teams are going to stick with their guy as long as they're in the playoff hunt. Regardless of whether or not the chances are pretty unrealistic.

But, there's a layer to the topic that does warrant some attention and it does spice things up a bit.

Per The Athletic's Tashan Reed, if Carr were to suffer a football-related injury at any point during the next two games, then an injury clause in his contract fully guarantees his 2023 salary and a chunk of his 2024 salary:

Why Derek Carr's status matters moving forward: If the quarterback were to get hurt in one of the #Raiders' last two games, then his $32.9M salary next year and $7.5M of his 2024 salary would become fully guaranteed.

— Tashan Reed (@tashanreed) December 26, 2022

Granted, it would have to be serious injury that renders Carr unable to play at the start of the 2023 season. The guarantees don't kick in if he dislocates his shoulder or has a high-ankle sprain. But as we all know, this is football. A serious injury can occur at any time on the field and Carr -outside the opposing quarterback- is the only player that touches the ball on every offensive play of the game.

If Carr stays healthy over the last two weeks of the season then the Raiders won't have to pay him until February 15.

And that's the key part in all of this.

As you can see, the bill will be a hefty one. Based off Carr's contract and how the 2022 season has gone, many are curious as to whether or not the Raiders decide to keep him or cut him. The Raiders will eat just a little more than $5.6 million in dead cap if they release him before February 15, so, the Raiders could set themselves up for the future by drafting a quarterback or they could sign one in free agency. And, they'd save $40 million in the process.

The latter situation is interesting because there is a good chance Tom Brady will be a free agent after the 2022 season. If the Buccaneers miss the playoffs or go one-and-done, the Raiders could easily enter themselves into the sweepstakes by releasing Carr.

This is all hypothetical, but it's also very realistic. Which is why the topic is an interesting one.

And McDaniels and co. are certainly aware of the situation.

“I mean, I think there's a lot of things that are going to go into that bucket once we kind
of sort through after tonight," said McDaniels. "There are other things, too. I mean, we have guys – Divine [Deablo], is that worth playing, not playing coming off IR. The guys that got injured here this week or have some things that are nagging them. I think there's a lot of things that you start to talk about relative to taking care of the people that are dealing with things like that.

"Injuries or contracts, what have you, I think you got to consider all that stuff… The reality is, is we haven't had any conversations about those things yet. And as we go through the next 24 to 48 hours, I'm sure we'll sort through some of those things. But we're aware of all those things, too."

It's very unlikely the Raiders bench Carr. The optics would be terrible.

But the key part, here, is benching Carr this week would be an obvious sign that he is not the quarterback of the future. I don't really see how one could argue otherwise.

If he is in fact their guy, there is no reason to worry about paying him. Even if Mark Davis isn't the richest NFL owner in the game. Anything else sends an entirely different signal when it comes to the future of both parties.

We'll see how the rest of the week plays out.

Featured Image Via Michael Longo/For USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK