Getty Former Raiders QB Derek Carr.
Prior to his release, the Las Vegas Raiders tried to trade Derek Carr. There weren’t many teams that were trying to trade for him as they were waiting until the team had to cut him. The only team to show real trade interest was the New Orleans Saints and they brought Carr in for a visit. Though they didn’t trade for him, it appears getting that head start on talking to him paid off.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Carr and the Saints are closing in on a contract agreement.
Saints have emerged as the front runners to sign former Raiders’ QB Derek Carr and an agreement could be reached as early as today, per league sources.
Barring an unforeseen change, Carr will be a Saint in the coming days. This will allow him to reunite with former Raiders head coach Dennis Allen who was the quarterback’s head coach during his rookie season. New Orleans was also willing to make a long-term commitment to Carr. The team is giving him a four-year contract, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
The #Saints are giving their new QB Derek Carr a 4-year deal, source said. With a big QB number coming, they’ll make it work with their cap situation.
Carr recently traveled to Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine to meet with teams. The New York Jets and Carolina Panthers were other teams that spoke highly of the quarterback following their visits. In the end, Carr’s familiarity with Allen and the chance to play in a weak NFC South decision was too good to pass up.
Was This the Right Move for Carr?
The Saints were one of the most logical fits for Carr from the beginning. The team has an exciting young wide receiver in Chris Olave and had a top-five defense last season. Carr has never been able to play with a good defense throughout his career. There’s also the fact that the NFC South is a mess right now.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the division by going 8-9. The Panthers have a new head coach and the Buccaneers lost Tom Brady to retirement. The Atlanta Falcons recently cut Marcus Mariota and may need to add a new quarterback this offseason. Carr is already the best quarterback in the division and the Saints should have one of the easiest paths to the playoffs in the NFL next year. While New Orleans does have salary cap issues and Allen is still unproven as a head coach, there weren’t many better landing spots for Carr.
Move to Saints Is Good for Raiders
By giving Carr a no-trade clause on his last contract, the Raiders weren’t able to dictate where the quarterback went. However, teams typically like trading away key players to the opposite conference. With Carr going to the Saints, the Raiders won’t have to worry about seeing the quarterback very often. The Raiders and Saints don’t play each other in 2023 and likely won’t play again for a few more years.
It will be a lot easier for Las Vegas to ignore what Carr does going forward. The Raiders don’t have a clear path to an upgrade over the quarterback so they could end up looking bad when it’s all said and done. Carr can finally move on and play in a warm-weather city in an easy division. The NFC South is going to feel like a walk in the park after nine seasons in the AFC West.