Originally published by RaidersNewswire.com
The 2023 season is going to mark a new era for the Las Vegas Raiders as they will have a new quarterback to lead their offense after they parted ways with Derek Carr in the offseason.
Carr was infamously benched for the Raiders’ last two games of the 2022 season, signaling an end to his tenure with the organization. Although Las Vegas reportedly tried to trade Carr, the signal caller refused to waive his no-trade clause and instead wanted to test his luck. Without a deal in place, the Raiders officially released Carr which allowed him to immediately sign with a new team instead of having to wait for the start of free agency.
Although perhaps not considered an elite-level quarterback in the NFL, Carr is a quality starter who can help raise the floor for a team. As such, he had a few options to choose from and it appears he’s selected his new home as he’s signed a deal with the New Orleans Saints via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network:
The #Saints & Derek Carr agreed on a 4-yr deal for $150M with $100M in total guarantees, per me & @MikeGarafolo. He gets $70M effectively fully guaranteed ($60M at signing, another $10M in Year 3 vesting after Year 1). Carr structures his deal to accommodate Saints’ cap issues. pic.twitter.com/vs6qaBh7rg
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 6, 2023
Carr gets a more lucrative deal than some might have accepted, though the market for good quarterbacks only gets richer each and every season. The Saints are a logical destination for Carr as they’ve got young talent and veterans around them to make a real run at the NFC South. Last season, all four teams had reasonable claims to the division title and that stands even more true today after Tom Brady retired and left the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to search for their own replacement.
The new Saints quarterback was also being courted by the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers, but it seems things may have come down to the dollar amount and years on his new contract. The Jets would’ve made a suitable landing spot for the veteran as they’ve also got great young players on their roster, though they may be another year or so from seriously competing. The Panthers are in a clear rebuild and thus wouldn’t make as much sense for Carr to join.
Raiders fans should be happy for Carr, but now it’ll be interesting to see where the team goes from here.
The post Raiders News: Derek Carr Signs Four-Year, $150 Million Deal With Saints appeared first on Raiders Newswire.
