Derek Carr shuns Jets and Panthers to sign with New Orleans Saints
Derek Carr will sign with the New Orleans Saints after also being pursued by the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers. The deal is reported to be for four years and could be worth up to $150m.
The 31-year-old had met staff from the Jets, Panthers and Saints since his release from the Las Vegas Raiders last month. All three teams have need at quarterback and were keen on Carr, who was a solid if unspectacular signalcaller for the Raiders since they drafted him in 2014. The Saints have failed to reach the playoffs since Drew Brees, a future Hall of Fame quarterback, retired at the end of the 2020 season.
Carr has links with the Saints. The team’s head coach, Dennis Allen, drafted him in 2014 when he was in charge of the Raiders.
“I had the opportunity to work with Derek at the start of his professional football career,” Allen said Tuesday in a statement. “In addition to his talent, I admired his approach to the game, work ethic and commitment to get better every day in what were the formative stages of his career. From afar and when we played him as an opponent, I saw Derek’s development into one of the most productive quarterbacks in the National Football League. Derek is an outstanding addition to the New Orleans Saints and I can’t wait to get working with him and the rest of our team this offseason.”
Carr set most significant quarterback records for the Raiders, including career passing yards, touchdown passes and passer rating. However, he appeared in just one playoff game for the team and before he left Las Vegas he said the “fire burning inside of me to win a championship still rages”. In his final season with the Raiders, he had career lows in passer rating and completion percentage. However, he has a good chance of making the playoffs next season in a weak NFC South: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be without Tom Brady, who retired in February, while the Atlanta Falcons and Panthers have quarterback issues of their own.
New Orleans have experimented with Andy Dalton, Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill at quarterback. However, Dalton is soon to be a free agent and Hill is a hybrid player, who often plays
a part in the receiving and rushing games. Winston, who has been plagued by injury during his Saints career, has one more year on his contract but Carr’s arrival may lead to his release.
The Jets and Panthers will continue their search for a quarterback. The Panthers have the ninth pick in this year’s draft and may find a solution there. The Jets, who have lost faith in Zach Wilson, have been linked with Jimmy Garoppolo and Aaron Rodgers, whose future with the Green Bay Packers remains unclear.