Saleh compares Carr to Stafford, hypes QBs ‘elite
INDIANAPOLIS — On Wednesday, the Jets met with veteran quarterback free agent Derek Carr for the second time in three weeks.
The first meeting took place in New Jersey near the Jets facility the weekend of Feb. 18. This time, it was at the NFL combine, where Carr met with Jets owner Woody Johnson and general manager Joe Douglas.
Jets coach Robert Saleh could not attend because of a stomach bug, but he came away impressed with Carr after the first meeting with the four-time Pro Bowler.
“He’s a tremendous young man,” Saleh said via Zoom on Thursday. “His mind is in the right spot, he keeps the main thing the main thing. He’s got an elite mental makeup with regards to football IQ. He’s got tremendous accuracy and arm strength. He can put the ball anywhere you want.
“He’s underrated in terms of a scrambler and being able to move out of the pocket and all that stuff. He’s been asked to do a lot in his career and you just look at him, I’ve said it before, I think he’s more in line with what (Rams’ quarterback Matt) Stafford’s career has been in terms of if you can just get him to a place that can surround him with all the pieces to allow him to just play quarterback 10-15 times a game, it would be pretty cool. He’s a solid young man.”
The Jets got to speak with Carr weeks before the start of free agency because the Raiders released him on Feb. 14 after nine seasons with the team. Along with the Jets, Carr has met with the Saints twice and the Panthers.
Gang Green and Carr don’t seem to be in any rush to make a decision. The Jets are also monitoring Aaron Rodgers to see if he could become available.
Rodgers, 39, recently returned from a darkness retreat in southern Oregon. He is still contemplating his future and could retire, return to the Packers or play elsewhere in 2023. He is expected to decide soon with free agency and the new league year less than two weeks away
Carr, 31, would be the Jets’ second option if they Jets cannot land Rodgers through a trade.
“As a coach, you always want it done yesterday,” Saleh said. “We appreciate everyone’s process, we appreciate how everyone is going about it, we appreciate the time everyone needs.
“It’s just being deliberate in our process and making sure that we’re taking care of our stuff, but also being mindful and respectful for other people, too.”
Four QBs took snaps for the Jets last season as their offense struggled to find any consistency. Gang Green finished 25th in total offense and 29th in points per game.
Carr would certainly provide lift to the Jets. He threw for 3,522 yards and 24 touchdowns with 14 interceptions before the Raiders benched him for the final two games of the season.
Zach Wilson, who started nine games last year, was benched twice, including the final two games of the regular season. Mike White and Joe Flacco, who also started multiple games, are both free agents. The only other quarterback on the roster is Chris Streveler.
The Jets are expected to keep