Who will be the Las Vegas Raiders’ starting QB in 2023? Jarrett Stidham makes his case Saturday

Whether Jarrett Stidham gets to be the Las Vegas Raiders’ starter in 2023 remains to be seen.

He had a strong debut as the Raiders’ starting quarterback when he passed for 365 yards and three touchdowns against two interceptions in a 37-34 overtime loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

He’s a free agent after the season, but it’s possible the Raiders will re-sign him to either be the starter or a back-up to whomever Las Vegas goes after in the offseason.

The Raiders have to decide to keep Derek Carr or trade/release him before his $42 million is guaranteed on Feb. 15, according to OverTheCap. Carr was benched for the final two games.

It’s likely Carr is done after nine seasons as the Raiders quarterback. The team will be in the market to sign a free agent QB or try to deal for a quarterback. His brother, David, alluded to that saying “Derek has moved on.” He said he’ll say more on his son’s podcast with Harvester Sports.

There will be plenty of quarterbacks hitting the free agent market, led by the 45-year-old Tom Brady, who’s shown he can still get it done, like in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 30-24 victory over the Carolina Panthers. He threw for 432 yards and three touchdowns.

The Bee will take a deep dive at the quarterback situation in the offseason.

Stidham played strong against the 49ers

Stidham put the blame on himself after the Raiders lost to the 49ers 37-34 on Sunday afternoon at Allegiant Stadium.

His teammates disagreed.

Just ask Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams.

“Every single guy on the team said ‘man, get out of here with that. You balled out and did your thing.’ We got to find a way to help him and protect a little longer; catch a few more balls and get a few more points. It could’ve been a dream situation for him, too,” Adams said. “Either way, we all went out here and had a lot of fun today. It was one of those types of games we rallied with each other and had a good battle with a really good football team. Proud of Jarrett.”

It was Stidham’s first NFL start after the Raiders benched Derek Carr for the last two games.

He did everything he could to help the Raiders win the game after finishing the game with 365 yards with three touchdowns against two interceptions.

As such on the pass in overtime when Kolton Miller bumped into Stidham after Nick Bosa pushed Miller back into him. The pass floated in the air before it was picked off.

The 49ers won the game on Robbie Gould’s field goal, however.

Still, it was an impressive start for Stidham against the NFL’s top-rated defense.

“I think Jarrett shocked a lot of people,” Adams said. “He didn’t shock me. He prepared every single week like he’s going to play and it showed. He took control of the huddle and the game and played an amazing game.”

Stidham will get another start when the Kansas City Chiefs play the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in the regular season finale.