The Las Vegas Raiders have less than a week to trade or release four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Derek Carr. If that does not come to fruition, his entire $32.9 million base salary for next season becomes guaranteed.
This led to Las Vegas giving Carr permission to visit with the New Orleans Saints earlier in the week. Apparently, things are going well for Carr and the Saints.
According to Saints insider Nick Underhill, the embattled quarterback is back visiting New Orleans at its headquarters on Thursday.
This seems to be the clearest indication yet that Carr could be headed to the Saints in a blockbuster trade at some point soon.
New Orleans is obviously in need of a starting quarterback following the failed Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston experiments. Meanwhile, Saints head coach Dennis Allen served in that role for the then-Oakland Raiders during Carr’s rookie season back in 2014. While Allen was fired four games into the season, there’s a built-in relationship here.
Interestingly enough, New Orleans acquired a first-round pick by trading former head coach Sean Payton to the Denver Broncos late last month. The selection will be 30th overall. (The pick will actually be No. 29 due to the Dolphins' forfeited pick.)
Whether the Saints would be willing to pay that high of a price for a quarterback who was benched by the Raiders a season ago remains to be seen. Instead, it seems like a second-round selection and change should be the market value for the 31-year-old Carr.
- Derek Carr stats (2022): 60.8% completion, 3,522 yards, 24 TDs, 14 INTs, 86.3 QB rating
While Carr had a down year in Josh McDaniels’ first season as the Raiders head coach, he has a proven track record of success.
With New Orleans’ wealth of offensive weapons, including running back Alvin Kamara and wide receiver Chris Olave, Carr would have a nice supporting cast to work with.
The question here is whether the Raiders and Saints can work something out as it relates to a trade. But given the fact that Carr is meeting with New Orleans, something might have already been agreed to behind the scenes.
Stay tuned!
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