The New Orleans Saints are reportedly a team that is in hot pursuit of Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr. Be it in a trade or possibly if he soon hits the NFL free-agent market.
After eight seasons and 16 games, the Raiders decided in December that the Derek Carr era in their organization had officially come to an end. The decision was made after the team underperformed on offense in 2022-2023, after being a key element in their 10-win showing the previous season.
Despite the offensive reputation of new head coach Josh McDaniels, his style ended up not being a good fit for the skillset of the four-time Pro Bowl QB. While the 31-year-old is no longer welcome in Las Vegas, there are still expected to be quite a few suitors for Carr’s services around the NFL.
Related: Derek Carr unwilling to work with Raiders on buying more time to facilitate trade
On Friday, it was revealed that one QB-starved organization from the NFC South is making a big push for the signal-caller that has thrown for over 4,000 yards four times in his career.
New Orleans Saints a top contender for Derek Carr
During a Friday morning edition of ESPN’s show “Get Up,” NFL insider Jeremy Fowler gave an update on the ongoing situation with Derek Carr and the Raiders after it was revealed earlier in the day that he won’t help buy the team time to seek a trade before a Feb. 15 deadline that increases his salary to over $40 million next season.
Fowler explained that a decision to trade or cut Carr could come very soon, and the New Orleans Saints are expected to be a major player in the market for the veteran quarterback.
“A trade or release really could happen any hour because GM Dave Ziegler is talking to teams. But I’ve talked to a few execs who wonder if they would just cut him this week because he’s got the Pro Bowl this weekend, which does put him at risk for injury. If he were to get hurt, that $40 million kicks in early, and so they’ve got to shake this out soon. I was told that the Saints are a team to watch here. Dennis Allen was his coach in his rookie year in Oakland, they have a connection, and they have some draft capital after the Sean Payton deal.”
– Jeremy Fowler
- Derek Carr stats (2022-2023): 3,522 passing yards, 24 TD, 14 INT, 86.3 passer rating
Earlier this week, the New Orleans Saints received a 2023 first-round pick (No. 29 overall) and a 2024 second-round pick from the Denver Broncos for the rights to retired head coach Sean Payton.
The team started veteran journeymen Jameis Winston and Andy Dalton at quarterback last season and still were among the 20 best in our NFL offense rankings due to the talented skill players on the Saints’ roster.