Saints won’t have a shot at landing Derek Carr in the offseason

The NOLA Saints are entering the Dennis Allen era and as of now, we don’t know who the quarterback of the team will be. A name that was somewhat floating around as an option as Allen’s former quarterback when he was the head coach of the Raiders in 2014, Derek Carr.

Carr coming to New Orleans actually made some sense. He had ties to Allen, who drafted the Fresno State quarterback in 2014 and was his coach for four games until he was fired by the organization. The Raiders also didn’t seem all that happy with Carr over the years and with the franchise hiring Josh McDaniels instead of Rich Bisaccia, it felt like a change at quarterback could take place in Vegas.

According to Ian Rapoport, however, the Raiders are looking to extend Carr for the second time since he became a Raider in 2014.

"Sources say the Raiders are moving forward with Carr at QB and prepared to discuss a contract extension that would keep him in Las Vegas for the foreseeable future. Carr has one year left on his contract, making nearly $20 million.For weeks, as the Raiders searched for a coach, Carr mulled his future, with both sides left to make a mutual decision about what would come next. Sources say Carr’s top choice for a new coach was actually the one the team hired. In the past, McDaniels’ and Ziegler’s affection for the three-time Pro Bowler led them to consider trading for him."

Derek Carr probably won’t be joining the NOLA Saints

I’m not sure how realistic Carr to New Orleans ever really was but it did make sense on some fronts. After the team didn’t hire the head coach Carr wanted and with McDaniels coming in, it could have played out to where the Raiders were looking to trade the former second-round pick.

The Raiders likely looked at the division they’re in and figured Carr is better than going after someone else. Competing against Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert twice a year (maybe even Aaron Rodgers?) doesn’t sound like fun, so it’s best the Raiders stick with a guy who can at least put up decent numbers each year.

With Carr off the board, the Saints’ options at quarterback are growing more limited. Aaron Rodgers is going to be too expensive, as would Russell Wilson, so now New Orleans is in a situation where their best options are trading for Jimmy Garoppolo or re-signing Jameis Winston. I’d rather have Winston, to be honest. He’s less expensive and knows the organization already.

We’ll have to see what happens when free agency officially gets underway in a month.