AP sources: Derek Carr to visit Saints on Wednesday
By MARK ANDERSON and BRETT MARTEL
AP Sports Writers
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr will visit the New Orleans Saints on Wednesday, two people with knowledge of the situation said Tuesday.
The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to comment publicly. One person termed the visit as “exploratory in nature.”
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network was the first to report Carr’s trip.
Saints coach Dennis Allen was the Raiders’ coach when the club selected Carr in the second round of the 2014 draft out of Fresno State. Allen coached Carr for only four games before he was fired that year.
If the Saints and Raiders agree to a deal, they have until Feb. 15 to work out the details. That’s when Carr’s contract will become guaranteed and he will be owed $40.4 million over the next two years.
The Raiders could release Carr if no trade agreement is reached, which would make him a free agent. New Orleans or another team could wait to see if that happens and try to lure Carr, who turns 32 on March 28, on the open market.
Even if a trade agreement is reached before the deadline, a team could renege because no deal can become official until March 15. Carr said last week he would not extend the deadline to facilitate a trade, and sounded content about the possibility of becoming a free agent.
“I’m just looking for teams that have made that decision consistently that they’ll do whatever it takes to put a winning program out there,” Carr said then. “So for me, that’s just to win, win a championship. That’s at the forefront of the mind. It’s not money.”
Carr played nine seasons for the Raiders and holds club records for yards passing (35,222) and touchdown passes (217). But he never won a playoff game. And after struggling late in the season, Carr was benched with two games remaining.
Jameis Winston is under contract with Saints through 2023, but New Orleans is expected to release him. His contract calls for a base salary of $12.8 million next season and he played in just three games in 2022 before losing his job — in part because of a back injury — to Andy Dalton.
Winston, who was hurt in Week 1, tried to continue playing in Weeks 2 and 3, when he threw five interceptions and was sacked seven times while passing for just two TDs.
When Winston asserted he was healthy enough to play again and wanted another chance, the Saints stuck with Dalton, who completed 66.7% of his passes for 2,871 yards with 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 14 starts.
Dalton, 35 and a 12-year NFL veteran, is due to be a free agent this offseason.
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