Derek Carr, Saints Agree to 4-Year Contract Worth Reported $150M After Raiders Exit
Tyler Conway@@jtylerconway
Featured Columnist IVMarch 6, 2023
After nearly three weeks of free agency, Derek Carr made a decision.
Carr agreed to a four-year contract with the New Orleans Saints on Monday. Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the deal is worth $150 million, with $100 million in total guarantees.
Ian Rapoport @RapSheetThe <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Saints?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Saints</a> & Derek Carr agreed on a 4-yr deal for $150M with $100M in total guarantees, per me & <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeGarafolo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MikeGarafolo</a>. He gets $70M effectively fully guaranteed ($60M at signing, another $10M in Year 3 vesting after Year 1). Carr structures his deal to accommodate Saints' cap issues. <a href="https://t.co/vs6qaBh7rg">pic.twitter.com/vs6qaBh7rg</a>
Carr also has a no-trade clause in his contract, per Garafolo.
Before the move became official, Carr appeared to confirm the news in a post on his Twitter account:
Carr has a longstanding relationship with Saints head coach Dennis Allen, who was the Oakland Raiders' head coach when the team drafted Carr in 2014. New Orleans had been the team most interested in the Fresno State product, meeting with him in February when he was still under contract with the Raiders.
Rather than facilitate a trade to the Saints at the time, Carr instead forced Las Vegas' hand into releasing him so he could test the free-agent market.
With Carr's commitment to New Orleans, the team will have to continue its financial maneuvering. The Saints are $24.6 million over the $224.8 million salary cap and have to get under it by the start of the league year March 15, meaning the front office is far from done making moves.
Don't be surprised if several Saints restructure their contracts in the coming days and veterans are cut with post-June 1 distinctions. Releasing Jameis Winston in that manner alone would carve out $12.8 million in space, so his departure was a virtual certainty even before Carr signed with the Saints and is now just a matter of time.
The signing of Carr marks a somewhat surprising recommitment to a veteran-laden roster that is expensive and coming off a 7-10 season. Carr would be an upgrade over Winston and Andy Dalton but not enough of one to turn the Saints into Super Bowl contenders.
Saints passers combined to throw for 3,969 yards and 24 touchdowns against 14 interceptions while posting a 93.6 passer rating last season. Carr threw for 3,522 yards and 24 touchdowns against 14 interceptions with an 86.3 passer rating. It would be fair to say Dalton performed just as well as Carr in 2022—if not better—despite having worse skill-position options.
The Saints likely felt comfortable making this move because of the wide-open NFC South. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in the midst of a retooling after Tom Brady's retirement and seem unlikely to compete in 2023. The Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers will likely use the draft to find their franchise quarterbacks and are more focused on the future than the present.
Carolina was among the teams interested in Carr during his free-agent process, but the team has seemed more likely to aggressively trade up in the draft. The New York Jets were also linked to Carr as they explore free-agent options.
That said, Jimmy Garoppolo has a relationship with New York head coach Robert Saleh dating back to their time with the San Francisco 49ers, and the Jets are also expected to explore an Aaron Rodgers trade if he becomes available.