Getty Josh McDaniels & Mark Davis of the Las Vegas Raiders.
For a moment, it looked like a potential Derek Carr trade for the Las Vegas Raiders was dead in the water. The February 15 deadline to cut or trade him is quickly approaching and the team wasn’t allowing him to speak to other teams. Las Vegas finally acquiesced and allowed Carr to speak to the New Orleans Saints this week.
There’s momentum building on a potential trade with the quarterback bringing his wife Heather along to visit the team and city, per Sean Fazende of FOX 8 New Orleans. However, there’s still no guarantee that the deal get finalized. Carr may look at the fact that the Saints are $60 million over the salary cap and find that maybe they aren’t the most appealing team to hitch his wagon to, per Over the Cap. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are another team with salary cap issues but were a playoff team this year and living in Florida could be an easier sell to Carr than living in New Orleans. Replacing the recently retired Tom Brady is a tall task but that shouldn’t be a detractor for the quarterback.
Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report pitched a trade that sees the Buccaneers send a 2023 third-round pick, a 2023 fifth-round pick and a 2024 conditional third-round pick to the Raiders for Carr:
Again, it’s hard to see the Raiders being able to squeeze out a first-rounder or even a second without assurances that he’s going to be a solid starter for the team acquiring him.
Unfortunately for Vegas, the Wentz and Russell Wilson trades backfiring for the Commanders and Broncos, respectively could have hurt their ability to negotiate a better deal.
However, a team like the Bucs may still be willing to part with multiple picks, with Tom Brady’s retirement leaving them at a crossroads.
Raiders Would Be Happy to Make This Trade
The Raiders would be happy to get anything for Carr. They don’t have much leverage in this situation considering how they structured the quarterback’s contract. $40.4 million worth of contract guarantees kicks in on February 15. Las Vegas could easily trade him by then but Carr has a no-trade clause and wants to go to the right situation.
The Raiders are running out of time and just need to make any deal they can. If they can get a package of three draft picks, that would be a big win for the franchise. Unfortunately for the team, the ceiling for a return on Carr is likely a single third-round pick. There’s not enough time for a bidding war to start that might increase his value.
What do the #Saints think of Derek Carr? @camjordan94 weighs in from Phoenix…including some minor stress at the beginning of this question 😅
Should Carr Hitch His Wagon to Saints?
The Saints have a few things that would appeal to Carr. He’d be able to reunite with head coach Dennis Allen, who was his coach with the Raiders when he was a rookie. The Saints also have some good weapons in Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas and Chris Olave. Carr has never played with a top-15 defense in his career and New Orleans had a top-five group in 2022. There are serious reasons to be excited about possibly joining the team.
That said, the cap situation is concerning. The Saints will have to let go of some key players to get under the salary cap. It also makes it difficult for a 7-10 team to improve much in free agency. The team could have a plan in place that they’ve filled Carr in on but New Orleans isn’t the perfect fit for the quarterback.