Saints, QB Derek Carr to meet Wednesday, NFL Network reports

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - The Saints are in need of a quarterback and Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr is in need of a new team. So, with the Raiders’ permission, the two plan to meet on Wednesday (Feb. 8), according to a published report.

NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport broke the news of the planned meeting on Tuesday. However, Rapoport cautioned, “Carr, who has a no-trade clause, is doing due diligence and no trade is imminent.”

Carr, 31, remains under contract with the Raiders, where he has spent the first nine seasons of his NFL career.

Carr started for the Raiders as a 23-year-old rookie in 2014, when the team was coached by Dennis Allen, now the Saints’ head coach. Allen was fired after the Raiders got off to an 0-4 start that season.

This season, the Raiders unexpectedly benched Carr for the final two games after being eliminated from playoff contention, and mutually agreed that he would not even practice with the team.

Carr signed a five-year $125 million contract extension with the Raiders in 2017, then a three-year, $121.5 million extension last spring. The most recent extension gave the Raiders the right to cut Carr before Feb. 15 for a salary cap hit of only $5.625 million.

Carr bid farewell to Raiders fans in an Instagram post on Jan. 12, writing, “Raider Nation, it breaks my heart I didn’t get an opportunity to say goodbye in person. ... It’s especially hard to say goodbye because I can honestly say that I gave you everything I had, every single day, in season, and in the off season. It certainly wasn’t perfect, but I hope that I was able to leave you with more than a few great memories.

Any team trading for Carr would owe him $41.9 million in 2023 and $41.2 million in 2024, according to ESPN reporter Field Yates.

While appearing at his fourth Pro Bowl last week, Carr told reporters he had no intention of extending the Feb. 15 trigger date on his contract, when more than $40 million in guaranteed salary kicks in.

Carr led the Raiders to only two playoff appearances in his nine-year career.

He was injured and unable to play in a 2016 postseason game. He lost his only playoff start last year, when the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Raiders in the wild-card round, 26-19, en route to Joe Burrow’s first Super Bowl appearance. Carr had two turnovers in that loss, throwing an interception and losing a fumble.

In 142 career starts, Carr has a regular-season record of 63-79. He has completed 64.6 percent of his passes for 35,222 yards and 217 touchdowns, with 99 interceptions. His 14 interceptions this season tied Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins for third-most in the league, behind the 15 thrown by Dallas’ Dak Prescott and Houston’s Davis Mills.

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