Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints quarterback? It’s more likely than you think. The Saints were instantly linked to Carr when the Las Vegas Raiders made their intentions of moving on from him clear a month ago, and speculation has only gotten louder about the Saints being players in Carr’s sweepstakes (when and if they develop). Carr has a no-trade clause written into his contract that he can waive at his discretion, as well as a Feb. 15 trigger date that guarantees $40.4 million.
And the Raiders are trying to control this process by refusing to allow Carr’s agent to negotiate a trade, making an attempt at recouping some trade value. They can cut Carr before that date to get out of their contract with him but they would rather trade him somewhere and get something back in compensation. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler sees the Saints as a team that could be in the mix once those trade talks heat up. When sharing what he’s heard on Carr from around league circles at the Senior Bowl practices this week, Fowler had this to say:
“Watch for the New Orleans Saints here. A Carr-Saints connection was buzzing a bit in Mobile, and they could be a suitor. New Orleans has a first- and second-round pick from the Sean Payton deal, and head coach Dennis Allen coached Carr during his rookie year in Oakland.”
The Saints have felt like a natural suitor all along; Allen believed in him enough to draft Carr way back when, so it makes sense that he’d have interest in working with the quarterback again. It’s worth wondering whether Carr is really an upgrade over Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston — all three of them, combined, have never won a playoff game — but he’s never enjoyed as strong a supporting cast as he would have in New Orleans. The strong Saints defense could buy him more breathing-room than he ever enjoyed with the Raiders.
And what are the ripple effects from a potential teamup? Would Michael Thomas rework his contract again to play with an established quarterback like Carr? What kind of draft capital would the Saints have to give up for Carr? Would he agree to not waive his no-trade clause, forcing the Raiders to release him, so New Orleans could simply sign him as a free agent? This would introduce a lot of new variables to the Saints’ offseason strategy but that’s true of any move they make at quarterback. There’s a lot of smoke with Carr. Let’s see if there’s actually a fire sparking it.