He was benched for performance. A better question, why did Carr's performance drop so much this year? Carr from 2018-21 ranked between 9-13
in passer rating. That's really consistent if unspectacular. McDaniels shows up and now he is ranked 26th in passer rating in 2022. Carr looked like a player constantly frustrated, both on the field and at the podium. There is talk about McDaniels not letting Carr audible into different passing concepts, which would be super frustrating for a veteran player. Imagine getting to the line of scrimmage, seeing the D, knowing you are at disadvantage, and there being nothing you can do about it. I can see a QB developing a "this isn't going to work" mindset and then it being self-fulfilling. I can see how his December just fell off a cliff if he no longer believed in the system, coach, or even himself.