Despite an awkward Pro Bowl appearance representing the team, it’s been no secret that Derek Carr won’t be back with the Las Vegas Raiders for the 2023 NFL season. The Raiders benched Carr and turned to Jarrett Stidham for the final two weeks of the 2022 season.
And on Tuesday night, Carr received permission to speak with a team.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network was the first to report that Carr has been granted permission by the Raiders to visit with the New Orleans Saints.
Rapoport adds, “The plan is for a visit [Wednesday]. Carr, who has a no-trade clause, is doing due diligence and no trade is imminent.”
As Rapoport notes, Carr has a history with Saints head coach Dennis Allen, who was the Raiders’ head coach in Carr’s 2014 rookie season.
The Saints may not be the only NFC South team interested in Carr, who would upgrade the quarterback position for all four of the division’s teams at the moment. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been linked to Carr after Tom Brady retired. The Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers have been linked as well, but they may prefer to roll with a younger quarterback (they each pick in the top-9 of the 2023 NFL Draft as well). On the surface, New Orleans — who was quarterbacked by Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston in 2022 — makes a lot of sense as a destination for Carr.
Carr — who turns 32 in March — threw 24 touchdown passes, 14 interceptions, and put together an 86.3 passer rating for the Raiders in 2022.
This whole situation figures to move quickly; the Raiders will owe Carr $40.4 million if he’s not traded or released by Feb. 15.
Raiders beat writer Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal tweets that the Raiders and Saints “have agreed on compensation element of a trade” for Carr, and adds that “was always the requirement for any team to get permission to speak with Carr.”
Here’s a peek at how the NFL world is reacting to Carr receiving permission to speak with the Saints:
Saints interest in Derek Carr was obvious.
It appears that interest is reciprocated.
Siginificant development for #Saints . We’ll see what happens
— Sean FazendeFOX8 (@SeanFazendeFOX8) February 8, 2023
If the Saints send the Payton pick for Derek Carr I will chuckle emphatically.
— Ryan Burns (@FtblSickness) February 7, 2023
Related: Derek Carr deserves better than the Raiders