It appears the New Orleans Saints have got their next QB, and his name is Derek Carr.
The former Raiders signal-caller and the Saints were nearing a deal that could be completed as early as Monday, according to a report from Mike Garofolo of the NFL Network.
The deal is expected to be for 4 years, according to Ian Rapaport, and comes after a weekend of intrigue centering around the NFL Draft Combine in Indianapolis. Carr was in attendance, along with 32 NFL teams, and had a second meeting with the Saints and Jets, as well as a sit-down with the Carolina Panthers.
The Saints said they were pleased with where they say in the Carr sweepstakes, but it was a waiting game. Reports emerged on Sunday that the Jets were the front-runners, but that appears to have been a smokescreen.
Carr visited the Saints and the coach that drafted him in Dennis Allen prior to his release from the Raiders, with New Orleans appearing willing to send a trade package to get him on his previous deal. Carr exercised the no-trade clause in his contract and he was cut. The Saints are now hoping he can be the spark to turn back-to-back seasons of narrow playoff misses into another NFC South title.
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The 31-year-old Carr is a bit of a controversial name as it pertains to the upper echelon of NFL quarterbacks. That's largely due to his career record of 63-79, though he's played his entire career on a Raiders team that seems to have gone from one struggle to the next. He's made the Pro Bowl four times and has thrown for 35,222 yards, 217 TDs and 99 interceptions in his nine NFL seasons. His most impressive statistic comes in the form of 28 career 4th-quarter comebacks, which ranks 13th all time in NFL history.
The signing will also force the Saints, who currently sit $18 million over the salary cap, to get creative both in how they build out Carr's deal and how they navigate below the cap for 2023 and beyond. The signing also likely spells the end for Jameis Winston in New Orleans, who can be cut or traded for cap savings this offseason. Guard Andrus Peat also has a deal that could be trimmed from the books for significant cap savings. Most recently the Saints restructured the deals for Demario Davis and Taysom Hill to save another $12 million against the upcoming cap. CB Marshon Lattimore and DE Cam Jordan have the contracts likely next up on the restructure list, which would free up about $20 million when those are completed.
Free agency begins on March 15.
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