Saints to sign former Raiders QB Derek Carr to a four-year deal

Former Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr will be heading down the Bayou next season to join the New Orleans Saints.

The new deal will pay Carr $150 million over four years with $100 million in total guarantees.

Carr will receive $70 million effectively fully guaranteed, $60 million at signing, plus another $10 million in his third-year vesting after his first year.

New Orleans were one of three teams reportedly in the mix to sign the 31-year-old, along with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers, after the Raiders allowed him to speak with teams about the possibility of a trade.

After refusing to waive his no-trade clause, the Raiders released Carr on February 14, just before a deadline which would have guaranteed him $40 million of his contract with Las Vegas over the next two years.

In 2022 Carr finished with 3,522 passing yards, the third-lowest total of his NFL career, tossing 24 touchdown passes while throwing more picks (14) than in any of his previous seasons as a professional.

He also put up career lows in completion percentage (60.8%) and passer rating (86.3).

Carr will be reunited with Dennis Allen, who had a hand in drafting him in the second round in 2014 when he was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders and decided to make him the starter in his rookie campaign.

The Allen-Carr partnership lasted four games before the Atlanta native was axed, while Carr would go on to play nine more seasons with the Raiders.

During his time with the Raiders, Carr compiled a record of 63-79, completing 64.6% of his passes, throwing for 35,222 yards, 217 touchdowns and 99 interceptions.

A four-time Pro Bowler, Carr left the Raiders in the final two games of the regular season after being benched in what was described as a “mutual decision”.

The new deal for Carr makes a lot of sense for the Saints as Andy Dalton, who started 14 games last season, is set to become a free agent while adding Carr should allow them to facilitate a release for Jameis Winston, who has one year left on his New Orleans contract and is due to make a base salary of $12.8 million in 2023.

New Orleans missed the playoffs for a second consecutive season in 2022, posting a record of 7-10.

In October of last year, Carr spoke about his special bond with the Saints’ head coach, saying, “(Allen) and I have a great relationship still to this day.”

“And I still talk to him and things like that -- obviously not this week and all those things -- but we’ve always kept in contact; we’ve always been close.”

The hope is that adding Carr will improve a Saints offense that finished in the bottom half of the league regarding yards-per-game (333.8) and points-per-game (19.4).

Carr reportedly structured his deal to accommodate the Saints’ cap issues.