The New Orleans Saints made the announcement on Monday that Derek Carr, a former quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders, has agreed to sign a four-year deal with the team.
ESPN was told by sources that Carr agreed to a deal that could be worth up to $150 million and include guarantees of up to $100 million, though the terms of the deal were not made public.
According to the sources, Carr will receive $60 million with all guarantees upon signing and another $10 million once he begins Year 3. In the first two years of the contract, he will be paid $60 million.
The New York Jets and Carolina Panthers, in addition to the Saints, who finished 7-10 last year, had been pursuing Carr for several weeks.
In the beginning of February, Carr, 31, went to New Orleans and spent two days talking to several members of the organization. At the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis last week, he also had a second meeting with the team.
After contract restructures for a number of players, the Saints now need approximately $18 million to become compliant, despite starting the offseason with a surplus of more than $50 million over the anticipated $224.8 million salary cap for 2023. After Carr, the next question is what they will do with wide receiver Michael Thomas, whose contract was restructured in the offseason to give both parties more flexibility before free agency. He is still bound by a contract at the moment.
Thomas simultaneously shared the message “Thank you Jesus” on his timeline and retweeted two articles about Carr’s anticipated signing on Monday morning.
The Raiders released Carr on February 14, just before a deadline that would have guaranteed $40 million of his contract over the next two years. Carr refused to waive a no-trade clause in his contract. He could sign with any team right away after the release, rather than waiting for the official start of free agency.
Last season he wrapped up with 3,522 passing yards (the third-least characteristic of his nine-year vocation), 24 score passes, 14 captures (tied for the most in a solitary season), a 60.8% finishing rate (a lifelong low) and a 86.3 passer rating (a lifelong low).
Carr has known Dennis Allen since 2014, when Allen was in his third season as the Oakland Raiders’ head coach. Carr was selected by Allen in the second round of the 2014 draft, and Allen decided to start him as a rookie right away.
Carr remained with the Raiders for nine seasons, going 63-79 while completing 64.6% of his passes and throwing for 35,222 yards, 217 touchdowns, and 99 interceptions. Allen was fired by the Raiders just four games into the 2014 season.
“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 made the Master Bowl multiple times and assisted the Marauders with making the end of the season games in 2016 and 2021. Following what was described as a “mutual decision,” he was benched for the team’s final two games of the 2022 season.
After entering the offseason with an uncertain quarterback position, the Saints made sense as Carr’s new home. Andy Dalton, who began 14 games for the Holy people in 2022, will be a free specialist.
Jameis Winston is still under contract with the Saints for a year, but Carr’s signing could make it easier for him to leave. After taking over for Taysom Hill as the starting quarterback in 2021, Winston is eligible for a base salary of $12.8 million in 2023, but he has only appeared in ten games over the past two seasons. The Saints would save $4.4 million against the salary cap by releasing Winston, but New Orleans would incur $11.2 million in dead money. The Saints would save $12.8 million by making his release a transaction after June 1.
Seven games into the 2021 season, Winston tore his ACL and spent the rest of the year on injured reserve. In 2022, after the Saints failed to acquire Deshaun Watson, he signed a new contract.
At the beginning of last season, Winston suffered a back fracture and a foot injury, leaving him out of action in Weeks 4 and 5. He never got his first job back.
After Drew Brees retired prior to the 2021 season, the offense fell into the bottom half of the league in terms of points and total yards. Carr’s addition should help improve that situation.
