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The New York Jets could be willing to go to a place that other teams aren’t this offseason.
It was revealed on Friday, February 17 that free agent quarterback Derek Carr will be visiting the Gang Green facilities over the weekend.
The veteran quarterback was released by the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday, February 14 before a large portion of his contract became guaranteed. Now that Carr is on the open market he might receive a massive pay raise.
Let the Games Begin for Derek Carr and the Jets
ESPN NFL Insider Dan Graziano revealed in a column posted on Valentine’s Day that the Jets may be “desperate enough to outbid other teams for” Carr in free agency.
This is a bit of an unprecedented scenario with a 31-year-old, soon-to-be 32-year-old, reaching the open market. Especially when you consider the level of success Carr has achieved during his NFL career.
Graziano gave an educated guess on what his next contract could look like in his ESPN column.
“Money starts around $35 million a year right now” but if enough teams are involved in a bidding war “he might be able to push it higher than $40 million” per year.
Those figures would place Carr in the No. 9 to No. 10 range among the highest-paid quarterbacks in football on an annual salary basis.
The Jets were one of only two NFL teams that inquired about the availability of Carr when he was on the Raiders roster this offseason, per Albert Breer.
Not so coincidentally the New Orleans Saints and Gang Green are the only two teams that have set up visits with Carr in 2023.
A Tough Decision for the Jets
The Jets will host Carr over the weekend for a multiday visit to the team facilities according to Breer.
Carr is one of the Jets “top two quarterback targets this offseason” according to Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic.
The other name on that list is Green Bay Packers star, Aaron Rodgers. It seems like the future Pro Football Hall of Famer is in the midst of his darkness retreat. After he emerges from that he is expected to have some clarity on his NFL future.
Will the Jets wait to see what comes of that? Or will they simply say hey we have Carr right now and the only thing we’ll have to give up is a bag of money, let’s just sign him.
While there is a clear gap between Rodgers and Carr as quarterbacks, that difference could be made up by the difference in price. To acquire A-Rod it’ll cost mega bucks and a slew of draft choices.
To acquire Carr it’ll just be financial assets. That means the Jets could keep all of their picks to build around the veteran quarterback which could give them a great shot to make a run in 2023.
The Jets only get one attempt at quarterback. Once they sign someone it’s over they can’t get a do-over. So whatever decision they make, Gang Green will have to have some strong conviction with that choice.
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