NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE NOTES
Derek Carr released by Raiders
Quarterback Derek Carr was released by the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday as the club evaluates its future at the position.
The move was expected after Carr was benched with two games remaining this season because the Raiders would have owed him $40.4 million in guaranteed money over the next two years if he remained on the roster beyond Tuesday. By releasing Carr, the Raiders' salary dead cap hit will be $5.6 million next season.
"We have a lot of respect for Derek Carr and what he has meant to the Raiders organization for the last nine years," Raiders coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler said in a statement. "Derek has done great things in this league and we're thankful to have been able to work with him this past year. He is a true professional and we appreciate his hard work in striving to produce the results we all desire."
Carr's agent, Tim Younger, posted on Twitter that they wish the Raiders "the best of luck."
"This is the tough part of this business," Younger wrote. "That's the point; it's just business. Time now to reset for both sides. Derek chooses to hold on to many good memories and friendships, without any ill will. That's who he is. Onward and upward."
Las Vegas tried to work out a trade with the New Orleans Saints, and Carr visited the team last week. He exercised his no-trade clause and turned down the deal Sunday because Carr didn't want to take a pay reduction, a person with knowledge of the situation said at the time. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to comment publicly. Now Carr, who turns 32 on March 28, will see what he's worth on the open market, and there is little doubt there will be interest in the nine-year veteran given how many teams need to upgrade at quarterback.
Carr might still be able to work out a deal with the Saints, but New Orleans is nearly $60 million over the salary cap, according to overthecap.com. The Saints would need Carr to restructure his contract, but he already turned down that option last weekend.
Other teams Carr could consider include the Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Washington Commanders. Another team also could jump into the mix.
Over nine seasons with the Raiders, Carr became the team's career leader in passing yards (35,222) and touchdown passes (217).
Colts hire Steichen as head coach
Shane Steichen accepted his dream job on Tuesday. Now, he's waiting to see if he gets to rebuild the Indianapolis Colts around the quarterback of his dreams.
Team owner Jim Irsay ended a monthlong search that included interviews with more than a dozen candidates by hiring the 37-year-old, first-time head coach who has a penchant for turning promising young quarterbacks into stars.
"We felt Shane had a lot of that offensive magic that can be hard to find, knowing we're going to have a young quarterback to develop," Irsay said. "He had a presence and boy did it come through. Also his mind, thinking multiple things at once, disseminating those things quickly, I think he has a special mind for football."
Indy certainly needs a new perspective — and some stability — after missing the playoffs each of the past two seasons. Steichen becomes the Colts' fourth coach since 2017 and they're likely to be starting yet another different quarterback on opening day, extending their streak to seven straight seasons.
Irsay and general manager Chris Ballard are now pinning their hopes on a gruff-looking, tough-talking coach who worked previously with Philip Rivers and helped mentor Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers and Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia.
Cardinals hire Gannon as head coach
The Arizona Cardinals hired Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon on Tuesday to be their next head coach.
Gannon replaces Kliff Kingsbury, who was fired last month after going 4-13 in his fourth season. Gannon becomes Arizona's fourth coach in seven years and the second Eagles coordinator to become a head coach after Shane Steichen was hired by Indianapolis on Tuesday.
The 40-year-old Gannon has been Philadelphia's defensive coordinator the past two seasons, helping rebuild a defense that helped the Eagles reach the Super Bowl last Sunday. The Eagles lost to Kansas City 38-35 at State Farm Stadium, home of the Cardinals.
The Eagles had the NFL's No. 2 defense this season and the third-most sacks in NFL history with 78 under Gannon in 2022. Philadelphia led the NFL with 70 sacks this season — 15 more than any other team.
Super Bowl 3rd most-watched in history
Fox was hoping the matchup of two top teams in the Super Bowl and a close game would lead to a record night.
Even though Sunday's game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles came down to a field goal with 8 seconds remaining, Fox fell just short of its goal.
The Chiefs' rally to defeat the Eagles 38-35 was the third most-watched television show in history, with an average of 113.1 million people watching, according to final numbers released Tuesday by Nielsen.
The total includes the broadcasts on Fox and Fox Deportes as well as streaming on Fox and the NFL's digital sites. The figures are via Nielsen and Adobe Analytics.
The 2015 game between New England and Seattle on NBC holds the record at 114,442,000 viewers (not including streaming), followed by Super Bowl 51 in 2017 on Fox between Atlanta and New England (113,668,000).
This was Fox's 10th Super Bowl since it began airing NFL games in 1994 and the second most-watched program in Fox Sports history.
It is a slight increase over the 112.3 million average for last year's Super Bowl. The Los Angeles Rams' victory over the Cincinnati Bengals was broadcast by NBC and Telemundo and streamed on Peacock and NFL digital sites.