Just for clarity sake: The @Raiders and @Saints have agreed on compensation element of a trade for Derek Carr. That was always the requirement for any team to get permission to speak with Carr.
— Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) February 8, 2023
This was the implication, but now it’s been put out in public. The New Orleans Saints and Las Vegas Raiders have already agreed on compensation should Derek Carr waive his no-trade clause in order to facilitate a move, per Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Now it’s on New Orleans to sell Carr on what they have to offer and reach an agreement on how his hefty contract will be restructured should he wish to join them, likely through an extension.
So what could the Saints and Raiders be looking to exchange here? Las Vegas has little to no leverage given the ticking clock of a Feb. 15 trade deadline, and New Orleans is in the driver’s seat without any other teams having scheduled a meeting with Carr (at time of writing, anyway). It’s a very similar situation the Atlanta Falcons found themselves in last year when they alienated Matt Ryan in selling out for Deshaun Watson, eventually honoring his request to be traded to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for a third-round pick (No. 82 overall) while taking on $40.5 million in dead money.
New Orleans is picking at No. 71 overall in the third round this year, though they don’t own a third rounder in 2024 after including it in the Sean Payton trade. That also lines up with the value other mid-level quarterback trades have brought recently like the Carson Wentz trade in 2022 that sent him from Indianapolis to the Washington Commanders, which saw both teams swap second-round picks with the Colts recouping a third rounder in 2022 and a conditional third-round choice in 2023.
Maybe the Saints are willing to pay more to get their quarterback. Maybe the Raiders are willing to ask for less to get him off their books. That hard deadline and Carr’s substantial salary cap hit puts a lot of pressure on Las Vegas to accept an offer before their window closes and they’re forced to cut him without getting anything. Hopefully the Saints are aware of that and approaching these negotiations from a position of strength accordingly. We’ll know within a week.