Some fans may want a change at quarterback, but it isn’t coming in 2024.
OTAs are officially underway for the New Orleans Saints and with that comes speculation from the fans. A lot of the conversation when it comes to on the field has been circulated around Derek Carr, the quarterback the Saints signed last offseason for $150 million.
In his first season, the four-time Pro Bowler completed nearly 70% of his passes for 3,878 yards, 25 touchdowns, and just eight interceptions while running Pete Carmichael’s system. Even with those numbers, the Saints still went 9-8 and missed the playoffs for the third straight season, second under Dennis Allen.
I don’t go based on 1 or 2 stats
I provided 25+
Cool story though little buddy and if you go to pass points added
As he is a passer
He is 6th
It’s on my list of 25+ stats that have Derek Carr top 10
Most having him top 6
Thanks for verifying my data as correct pic.twitter.com/Rt0VxOf9TW
— Numbers Dont Lie (@Numbas_Dont_Lie) April 25, 2024
The conversation surrounding the signal-caller has gotten stronger since OTAs began due to Carr making a comment about the adjustments he had to make upon arriving in New Orleans last season. “I just didn’t know how hard it was gonna be to find a church, find a school, find a house, make sure my wife’s okay because she didn’t have any friends out here yet. I really didn’t factor in how much it would affect my family.”
On the football side of it, he had to learn a new coaching staff, a new offensive system, new teammates, and a new facility. These are things that take a while to get used to and get comfortable with, which is a big reason why Carr struggled so much early on in 2023. Now, heading into 2024, 90% of that is out of the way.
“That’s where I’m most excited because I feel like myself more now than I did probably 12 months ago.”
This offseason, the offensive system is a new one, but it’s a new system for everybody, and Carr details how that helps everyone involved.
“The cool part about this time is we’re all learning together,” Carr said. “There’s something about going through it together. Like last year, I’m the guy learning everything new, I’m trying to play catch up. Well, everyone’s helping me. But the cool part about this is we’re all starting over and then I feel more of that leadership that coaching role now. When you do something like that, together, that brotherhood in that unity, it gets even tighter. That’s the exciting part for us is that we’re going through it together. We’re making the mistakes, we’re learning and we’re doing things together.”
His finish to the 2023 season should give Saints fans a ton of confidence heading into 2024 with a new-look offensive scheme, an improved offensive line, and a skill group that stands up with the rest of the league.
I see a lot of people saying, “Spencer Rattler is going to take the job from Carr” and I just don’t believe that. In time, I think Rattler is the future of the franchise, but Derek Carr has played his entire career being a consistently good quarterback, which is exactly what the Black and Gold need right now with all the changes happening in the building. Consistently doing the little things right leads to success, but fans will need to be patient as the entire offense is changing… for the better.
Happy 33rd birthday, Derek Carr!
His career stats:
• 10 seasons (159 games)
• 64.9% completion rate
• 39,100 passing yards
• 245.9 pass YPG, 7.1 YPA
• 242 pass TDs – 107 INTs
• 92.3 passer rating
• 884 rush yards, 6 TDs
• 4x pro bowler pic.twitter.com/upzed2Rs3G— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) March 28, 2024
Make sure you follow Canal Street Chronicles on Twitter at @SaintsCSC, “Like” us on Facebook at Canal Street Chronicles, and make sure you’re subscribed to our YouTube channel. Follow my personal page @MiguezMatt for more!