The New Orleans Saints will reportedly be welcoming Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr for a visit Wednesday, according to NFL Network.
Carr is in a unique situation with the Raiders. He’s still under contract, but Las Vegas has already made it known that he won’t be on the roster come training camp. This means they will either find a trade partner for him or eat the $5.625 million in dead cap space by releasing him, which would save the Raiders $29.25 million toward the cap.
The Raiders have granted Carr permission to speak with teams interested in his services, and the Saints are the first to set something up.
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NFL Network added that no deal is imminent. It's a visit to see if Carr would be interested in New Orleans. He has a no-trade clause in his contract, allowing him to choose where he would like to go.
The Raiders are expected to make a move soon because Carr’s $40.5 million in guaranteed salary would kick in Feb. 15.
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Saints head coach Dennis Allen has a history with Carr, having started him during Carr's rookie season with the Raiders in 2014. However, Allen lasted just four weeks that season, losing every game before he was fired.
Carr didn’t have the best rookie season either. The 2014 second-round pick when 3-13 with 3,270 yards and 21 touchdowns to 12 interceptions.
That was the last time Allen was a head coach until New Orleans made him their lead man in 2022. He led New Orleans to a 7-10 record in 2022.
But the Saints are in the market for a quarterback after Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston didn’t produce the results the team wanted to see. Since Drew Brees retired after the 2020 season, the Saints haven’t been able to find his replacement.
Carr, who will be 32 in March, would change that. He had a down year in Las Vegas under new head coach Josh McDaniels, throwing for 3,522 yards with 24 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. In the previous season, Carr almost hit the 5,000-yard mark, throwing for 4,804 with 23 touchdowns and 14 interceptions as the Raiders reached the playoffs.
The Saints haven’t reached the playoffs in the past two seasons after doing so in the previous four. New Orleans is hoping to recapture that magic in a wide open NFC South now that Tom Brady has retired and left the Tampa Bay Buccaneers thinking about what to do next at quarterback. The Bucs were the winners of the division this past season despite an 8-9 record.
More suitors could come calling Carr in the coming days, but they will do so knowing they need to match what the Raiders are looking for in terms of compensation.
