Prognostication is tricky business in the NFL. The 2022 season has been a perfect example.
If someone had told you that the Raiders would be sitting at 2-5 after trading for Davante Adams and signing Chandler Jones, they'd likely have been laughed and scoffed at. The same could be said for any ardent Giants fans that predicted a 6-2 start in Brian Daboll's first season at the helm.
The point is that wild things happen in the league all the time and even the most bold predictions sometimes fail to predict how narratives will develop in 2022.
Based on what we've seen so far, upcoming schedule and the potential for teams and players to get hot or go cold, here are some bold predictions for how the rest of the season is going to shake out.
Derek Carr Will Be Benched
The Las Vegas Raiders signed Derek Carr to a three-year $121.5 million contract extension in the spring but it hasn't taken long for the bloom to come off that rose.
When the Raiders brought in head coach Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler as well as Davante Adams, everything was supposed to be in place for Carr and the Raiders offense to flourish.
That's been far from reality, though.
Just about everything that could go wrong for the Raiders has. They are 2-5. They are 0-4 in one-score games and last in an AFC West that is not nearly as scary as it looked on paper.
Then there was last week's 24-0 drubbing by the New Orleans Saints. The offense was at its worst and Carr had just over 101 yards with no touchdowns and one interception while taking three sacks.
He was pulled for Jarrett Stidham who proceeded to lead the offense past midfield for the first time all game and went eight-of-13 for 72 yards.
After the game, McDaniels noted that Carr was pulled because the outcome was decided. He has admitted he's playing through a back injury right now.
“I just think that at that point, the game, the score and the time remaining in the game kind of dictated being smart with that situation,” McDaniels said, per Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
However, the Raiders are going to be in an interesting situation with Carr this offseason. He just signed an extension but he only carries a dead cap charge of $5.6 million, making him an ideal trade or cut candidate if the Raiders want to go in another direction.
That could mean handing over the keys to see what Stidham can do over the final stretch of the season.
Kliff Kingsbury Will Be Fired Before End of Season
Matt Rhule was the first head coach to be shown the door in 2022. Kliff Kingsbury won't be far behind.
The Cardinals just signed him—and general manager Steve Keim—to a contract extension this offseason that goes through 2027. They were apparently looking at the team's overall record of 11-6 and the fact they made the playoffs instead of the 4-7 record they had over their final 11 games, including a 34-11 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
Now, they find themselves in the midst of a 3-5 start that looks a lot like the end of last year's campaign.
The team doesn't have a ton of options right to shake things up right now. They just signed Kyler Murray to a lucrative extension worth $230.5 million that goes through 2028.
Given the faith in both Murray and Kingsbury, it's safe to assume the organization thought they were headed toward big things in 2022.
Yet, the Cardinals are off to a bad start and it could get even worse. The Seahawks and Rams are up next and both have beaten the Cardinals once this season, then it's on to a Chargers team that is still dangerous with Justin Herbert at the helm.
If the Cardinals only win one of those four going into their Week 13 bye week they would be 4-8 and 3-9 is on the table. Ownership can't stand idly by if that's the case.
