INDIANAPOLIS — The Raiders will not leave the combine with a quarterback.

They got close with Matthew Stafford, even agreeing with the Super Bowl-winning quarterback on the parameters of a contract that would have paid him $90 million over the next two years.

As badly as the Raiders wanted Stafford, though, they wouldn’t overpay the Rams in trade capital. After mulling it over, the Rams kept Stafford in Los Angeles on a new contract.

The Raiders are left to consider other options.

Between engaging with Stafford and navigating their first combine together, Raiders coach Pete Carroll, general manager John Spytek and a slew of Raiders staff made good use of their time in Indianapolis. That includes getting a better handle on how the free agency market is shaping up, and what could be available to them in the draft.

Here’s a look at the combine from the Raiders’ perspective:

Veteran QB market

The Raiders got clarity on the Stafford front, albeit disappointingly so, and it leaves them pondering what to do next.

By pursuing him as aggressively as they did, they sent a strong signal about their desire to win as soon as possible. So expect them to explore more veteran options.

Sam Darnold makes sense, especially with Spytek and Carroll’s recent experiences with veteran quarterbacks. Geno Smith was down and out when Carroll brought him in with the Seahawks, and Baker Mayfield wasn’t much better when Spytek’s Buccaneers acquired him two years ago.

The revivals each quarterback experienced, and Darnold’s resurgence last year in Minnesota, prove that situations and coaching matter, even for quarterbacks cast aside by multiple organizations.

But it’s still a buyer-beware situation with Darnold. For all the good he did in leading the Vikings to a 14-3 record, it’s hard to ignore how poorly he played in losses in the regular-season finale to the Lions and in the playoffs to the Rams.

The sense in Indianapolis is that Darnold is not likely to command a bank-breaking contract. According to industry sources, a deal similar to what Smith got in Seattle — three years, $75 million, with $40 million guaranteed — feels like Darnold’s range.

With that kind of deal, the Raiders could have their veteran quarterback for this season but also maintain flexibility to move on if Darnold reverts back to his previous form.

After Darnold, the veteran market gets dicey. Justin Fields, Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins and Russell Wilson are all possibilities, but each comes with an age or performance flag.

QB draft prospects?

The buzz in Indianapolis was Cam Ward’s rise and Shedeur Sanders’s fall.

But take it with a grain of salt. Neither participated in on-field activities, and teams could merely be jockeying for position.

A fall by Sanders would not be the worst thing for the Raiders, who hold the sixth overall pick and must determine if acquiring the Colorado star requires them to trade up in the draft.

The Raiders remain intrigued by Alabama’s Jalen Milroe. Despite his decline over his final season at Alabama, he remains the most physically gifted quarterback in the draft and possesses an elite arm.

Plenty of people in the NFL believe his flaws are fixable and he is worth a second- or third-round investment.

And some see him as a perfect fit in a Chip Kelly offense.

“It may take a year or so,” an league executive said. “But the potential is there.”

In-house free agents

Carroll said this week he was impressed with the Raiders’ foundation.

“There’s all kinds of assets here,” he said.

But several of those players are pending free agents, including key defensive players in safety Tre’von Moehrig, linebacker Robert Spillane, cornerback Nate Hobbs and defensive end Malcolm Koonce.

“We have a number of free agents that we have to retain, and that’s important,” Carroll said. “They have big roles to fill and play. We’ve got to make some really great decisions.”

But there is only so much money to go around, even less if the Raiders sign someone like Darnold and give pass rusher Maxx Crosby a new contract.

“We’ve got to get Maxx all squared away,” Carroll said.

After coming to terms on a new contract with safety Isaiah Pola-Mao, the Raiders still have the second-most cap space in the NFL at $93.2 million.

But with Moehrig and Spillane’s market heating up, and Crosby in line for a new deal, tough decisions need to be made on how many of the Raiders’ 18 unrestricted free agents they can retain.

The Raiders used this week to finalize their in-house free-agent plan.

“We’re still spending a lot of time with Pete and the coaches,” Spytek said, “to make sure everything aligns up and we’ve got spots for them and it makes sense, and trying to get a sense for what’s important to the player, both from the position standpoint and from a contractual standpoint. So we’re working through that.

“We’ve still got 2½ weeks here to figure all that stuff out.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at [email protected]. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.