Buccaneers
- Ian Rapoport reports that the Buccaneers are intending to make a run at free agent QB Baker Mayfield as they transition to their next phase following the retirement of QB Tom Brady.
- Rapoport adds that Mayfield is expected to have significant interest from other teams but has mutual interest in the Bucs, where he would compete with second-round QB Kyle Trask.
Falcons
- ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler writes the Falcons have been making a strong effort to keep RT Kaleb McGary on an extension, though he’s expected to see what free agency has in store for him.
- We have him included in our Top 100 Available Free Agents list.
Panthers
- ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler says the Panthers are expected to be involved to some degree in the free agent market for defensive tackles, which features both top-end options and a lot of depth.
Saints
Saints QB Derek Carr says he was drawn to the team by their strong defense and continued interest in him throughout the process of his free agency.
“It was very important,” Carr said, via NFL.com. “It showed me how they felt about me from the beginning. They were very honest and clear. You heard D.A. (Dennis Allen), what he said and that’s exactly what he told me on the phone. The fact they were even willing to trade for me, meant something. That shows me that you are showing value without showing me value. You’re valuing me as a quarterback and as a human without having to say anything. That meant something and that meant a lot. Obviously, our relationship goes way back and things like that, but this time around they were the first ones out there. I remember Tim (Carr’s agent) called me and told me. We set up a visit, and those things meant a lot. When you get into this building and meet everybody, you talk football and go to dinner. Then you meet Mrs. (Gayle) Benson. It’s like, how do you not come here? You are looking for every good thing everywhere else and there were a lot of good things about other places, but it’s hard to find a place that has almost everything.”
“One thing for me when making this decision, you know, all you can do is look at past resumes,” Carr continued. “But once I knew, when you sign with a team none of the stats or anything in the past matter. Right now, we don’t have any rankings or any wins. The most important thing to me was the character of the men in the room, not really the ranking and that kind of thing. When I talk to the defensive guys here, and I’ve known a lot of them for a lot of years, but they are grown men. They know how to handle success and hard times. They compete at everything they do and this past year when I would say ‘us’ (Raiders), but ya’ll beat our faces here at the Super Dome. You can feel the physicality that they played with. You can feel the energy, the brotherhood, you can feel those things and I was so pissed after the game, excuse my language but I was like, ‘Wow.’ What an opportunity it is to make that one of my choices now. But again, the rankings and stats, they would be the first ones to tell you that none of that stuff matters. Anything I’ve done in the past or they’ve done in the past doesn’t matter, it’s going to be what we’re going to do. The main thing to me was the character and type of men that are in that locker room, and the type of men was what was so intriguing to me. They are grown men. Like I said, the physicality they played with and style of play I know D.A. (Dennis Allen) preaches, that was something that fired me up.”
“I’m not coming in here to try to take anything over,” Carr added. “I’m going to be me and I’m going to call out what I want to call out. I’m going to encourage what I think should be encouraged, but I’m here to do this with Cam (Jordan), DeMario (Davis), Tyrann (Mathieu), Taysom (Hill), Alvin (Kamara) and Mike (Thomas). If we want to go far, we have to go together. It’s not just because Derek shows up that we are going to do anything special. It’s because we all decided as a collective unit to go in one direction and do it the same way. That starts in OTAs in April and getting everybody here and getting to work if we want to do what we want to do.”
- Tom Pelissero reports that Saints TE Juwan Johnson’s two-year deal is worth $12 million, including $8.5 million fully guaranteed.
- Field Yates adds that the deal includes a $5 million signing bonus and $1 million in incentives annually.
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