News emerged on Tuesday night that the Las Vegas Raiders have granted permission for Derek Carr to meet with the New Orleans Saints. That meeting reportedly will take place on Wednesday.
Whether it’s the Saints or another one of the many quarterback-needy NFL teams, Carr will certainly be playing for a team that is *not* the Raiders. Las Vegas benched Carr for the team’s final two games of the 2022 season in favor of Jarrett Stidham. The Raiders have to trade or release Carr by Feb. 15 before a $40.4 million injury guarantee clause kicks in.
After the news of Carr being set to meet with the Saints broke on Tuesday night, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler provided more details on the Carr trade buzz.
Fowler provided three interesting nuggets on what he’s hearing from NFL teams.
The first point is that teams inquiring on a Carr trade would like to rework his contract, “which they believe Carr won’t do.”
Additionally, Fowler claims that the Raiders have a “modest” asking price, and adds that one NFL source says a third-round pick “could get it done” as the draft-pick compensation going back to Las Vegas.
Lastly, Fowler reports that the Saints are “believed to be only team engaged to extent of visit as of now.”
If a team really wants Carr, paying a third-round pick is really not a massive price to pay to acquire him, rather than risking he hits free agency. Additionally, while Carr’s contract — three years, 121 million remaining; $32.9 base salary in 2023 — is a very steep price on the surface, he may be even more expensive — at least for 2023 — if he hits the open market. That’s just the reality of the price and value of the most important position in sports.
Heck, the Saints’ entire NFC South division could use Carr, and that alone could create a pricey bidding war.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.