Saints Signing Derek Carr To Four-Year, $150M Deal

March 6, 2023

Update:

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Saints and QB Derek Carr have agreed to a four-year, $150 million contract that includes $100 million guaranteed.

Carr receives $70 million fully guaranteed, which includes $60 million guaranteed at signing and another $10 million in year three of the contract, which vests after the first season.

According to Mike Garafolo, the Saints are nearing a deal with former Raiders QB Derek Carr.

The #Saints are closing in on a deal with QB David Carr, sources tell me and @RapSheet. After nine seasons with the #Raiders, the four-time Pro Bowl selection is headed to New Orleans.

The first QB domino is about to fall and one NFC South team has its starter. pic.twitter.com/nuLSAhncLQ

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 6, 2023

Adam Schefter says the deal could be done as soon as today. Reports have said that Carr is seeking over $35 million per year as part of a new deal, so it’ll be interesting to see how the Saints fit Carr into their tight budget.

The Saints have been pursuing Carr for some time now and have evidently done enough to convince him to come to New Orleans, turning down other options like the Jets and Panthers.

Yesterday the word was Carr had a “slight lean” toward the Jets, but he evidently changed his mind. It’s worth mentioning the Jets have been heavily linked to Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, with Carr their second choice. Now he’s off the board and there’s no guarantee Green Bay trades Rodgers.

As for New Orleans, HC Dennis Allen worked with Carr with the Raiders when they were still in Oakland, so that level of familiarity clearly helped.

Carr, 31, is a former second-round pick of the Raiders back in 2014. He was in the final year of his contract when the Raiders signed him to a five-year, $125 million extension that included $70 million guaranteed in 2017.

Carr stood to make a base salary of $19.77 million in the final year of his contract and was set to be an unrestricted free agent in 2023 when he signed a three-year, $121.5 million extension.

The Raiders released Carr a couple of weeks ago before his contract guarantees locked in.

In 2022, Carr appeared in 15 games for the Raiders and completed 60.8 percent of his passes for 3,522 yards, 24 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He also rushed for 102 yards.

We had him included in our Top 100 – 2023 NFL Free Agents list.