Time is of the essence, which is why the #Raiders are starting now. There is a firm deadline of Feb 15. At that point, Carr’s $40.4M in salary over the next two seasons becomes fully guaranteed. Any decision on a possible trade would come before then. https://t.co/z0YW5GMiac
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 12, 2023
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the Las Vegas Raiders are ramping up their efforts to trade Derek Carr after benching him late in the 2022 season, eyeing a deadline of Feb. 15 to find a trade partner for their longtime franchise quarterback. If Carr is on the roster at that point more than $40 million will guarantee over the next two years, so they’re looking for a reason to justify that expense. For his part, Carr has already bid farewell to Raiders fans.
It’s kind of complicated. No trade can be executed until March 14, so this would be an agreement in principle rather than an official signed-and-stamped notice to the league office. And Carr has a no-trade clause written into his contract so he’ll have some leverage in deciding where he goes.
So what has that got to do with the New Orleans Saints? Saints head coach Dennis Allen drafted Carr when he was coaching the Raiders back in 2014, and they lack a surefire quarterback of their own, so on the surface this looks like an easy match. Speculation has already run rife and connected New Orleans to Carr’s sweepstakes.
But they should look elsewhere. The Saints have gotten similar production out of their cobbled-together quarterbacks depth chart the last two seasons compared to what Carr has put up in Las Vegas. They’ve trotted out a series of passers including Jameis Winston, Andy Dalton, Trevor Siemian, Taysom Hill, and Ian Book, who have all combined for more touchdown passes, fewer interceptions, and as many sacks as Carr.
There’s something to be said for bringing stability, and Carr would probably accomplish that, but between the draft assets it would take to trade for him and the salary cap resources his contract would consume, it may not be worth it. How much of an upgrade would he be, really, in light of all the extra costs to acquire him? If Allen wants to team up with Carr again, he’d be better served waiting for him to be released so the Saints can try and work out a contract at their own price, not what the Raiders are trying to pawn off on someone else.