Sources: #Raiders QB Derek Carr has informed the team he won’t accept a trade to the #Saints or any other team. The team is expected to release him and he’ll be a top free agent. pic.twitter.com/k0LcLRlDOo
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 12, 2023
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that Derek Carr will not waive his no-trade cause for the Las Vegas Raiders, meaning the New Orleans Saints (and any other interested team) will have to sign him as a free agent. Rapoport’s peer at NFL Network Tom Pelissero adds that the Saints and Raiders had a framework in place to trade Carr, but the quarterback’s contract made it too difficult to pull off, and now he’s going to have an opportunity to test the market.
The Raiders are expected to release Carr prior to their self-imposed deadline on Feb. 15; if he’s on the roster after that point, his contract triggers more than $40 million in guaranteed money over the next two years. So they’ll complete the process they started by benching him for the last two weeks of the regular season and cut Carr to save that money and pursue a new quarterback.
With that said, it still feels like the Saints may be frontrunners to acquire Carr once he’s a free agent. He and his wife spent two days meeting with the team in New Orleans and their connections with Saints head coach Dennis Allen are well-known. While it’ll be more difficult to sign Carr once he’s free to talk with other teams, the Saints will be able to gauge Carr’s value around the league rather than bid against themselves.