Mike Garafolo: Saints are set to make a decision on Derek Carr within the next few weeks; likely to have multiple suitors if released (3 Viewers)

[3ParStillDriver]

Carr got a no trade clause.... On earth... Why!?

Stinks, but to be fair he did show when with the Raiders that he's willing to waive it if its a team he wants to play for. My guess is Carr likes to have this in place to ensure he doesn't end up in a place he really doesn't want to be, like maybe the Browns for instance.

What really sucks, is the only 4 teams I can think of that may need him or be willing to trade for him are the Titans, Raiders, Browns and Giants. And I'm not so if any of them have interest, and the interest is mutual.

Which means its entirely possible Carr would rather be released, collect his money and be free to go somewhere else as a backup.

 

[Ghost]

Stinks, but to be fair he did show when with the Raiders that he's willing to waive it if its a team he wants to play for. My guess is Carr likes to have this in place to ensure he doesn't end up in a place he really doesn't want to be, like maybe the Browns for instance.

What really sucks, is the only 4 teams I can think of that may need him or be willing to trade for him are the Titans, Raiders, Browns and Giants. And I'm not so if any of them have interest, and the interest is mutual.

Which means its entirely possible Carr would rather be released, collect his money and be free to go somewhere else as a backup.

He didn’t waive his no trade clause with the Raiders. The Raiders ended up releasing him to avoid paying him 40ish million and he became a free agent.

Derek Carr contract, explained: Why Raiders released QB after failed trade to Saints | Sporting News

Carr signed an extension in the offseason that includes a no-trade clause, which ultimately forced Las Vegas to release him in order to avoid eating dead money.

www.sportingnews.com

Out of the teams you mention?
- Browns are underwater badly on Foster’s contact. It makes Carr’s with the Saints look good.

-Titans are likely drafting a QB.

-Giants? Maybe but doubtful.

-Raiders? I highly doubt they would give up anything to take him back.

 

[Booker]

There isn't a team out there who will trade for Carr, for the same reason that we didn't trade for him a couple of years ago. Any interested teams will just wait for him to get cut.

 

[Ghost]

There isn't a team out there who will trade for Carr, for the same reason that we didn't trade for him a couple of years ago. Any interested teams will just wait for him to get cut.

It’s basically the same situation the Raiders were in 2 years ago with his no trade clause. Maybe he waives, but I’d be surprised if he does.

Like last time the Saints appear to be the only one in the Carr market and they want to sell. Fairly sure no one wants to buy.

 

[SaintsMan209]

Derek Carr hopefully gets cut and then becomes a backup for the Jets.

 

[SailorJerrysHorse]

It’s basically the same situation the Raiders were in 2 years ago with his no trade clause. Maybe he waives, but I’d be surprised if he does.

Like last time the Saints appear to be the only one in the Carr market and they want to sell. Fairly sure no one wants to buy.

I don’t disagree entirely but I do think the situation is a little different as it relates to Carr’s relationship with the Saints FO versus where he was at with the Raiders when they were looking to move on. He 100% was not going to do them any favors after they basically benched him. With the Saints there might still be enough good blood there to be more amenable, especially since it really doesn’t feel like he’s all in here anyway.

If Roger’s is gone from the Jets, and Adams wants to play with his best buddy, given that change of leadership at both the GM and HC levels I wonder if there is a world where he might agree to a trade with NY. The Jets new OC, Tanner Engstrand did do a lot of stuff in Detroit that Carr seems to like in the passing game, it could be a good fit. Long shot, I know, but a girls gotta dream.

 

[Ghost]

I don’t disagree entirely but I do think the situation is a little different as it relates to Carr’s relationship with the Saints FO versus where he was at with the Raiders when they were looking to move on. He 100% was not going to do them any favors after they basically benched him. With the Saints there might still be enough good blood there to be more amenable, especially since it really doesn’t feel like he’s all in here anyway.

Anything is possible but Carr is likely on his last big contact. I’m hard pressed to think of any team that is going to take on his contract. Why would they when they can wait.

Add to this Cousins, Darnold and Wilson are in play. Objectively Carr is only on par with maybe Cousins.

Carr also likely knows he isn’t getting paid mega dollars going forward and knowing that if he is going to be cut, getting at least something from the Saints is preferable.

He already said he’s not taking a pay cut but would restructure. That points to he’s not doing the Saints any favors, just like the Raiders.

If Roger’s is gone from the Jets, and Adams wants to play with his best buddy, given that change of leadership at both the GM and HC levels I wonder if there is a world where he might agree to a trade with NY. The Jets new OC, Tanner Engstrand did do a lot of stuff in Detroit that Carr seems to like in the passing game, it could be a good fit. Long shot, I know, but a girls gotta dream.

Jets would make sense fit wise with Adams but you’d have to think that despite their own disfunction they also saw what happened with the two of them on the Raiders.

So same players reunited but on a different messed up team? Probably not a good outcome.

 

[Booker]

So here’s a question. Carr is due to receive a guaranteed $10M bonus in March for having been on the roster last year. If he gets cut before his $30M salary becomes guaranteed, would that $10M already paid be subject to offsets if he signs with another team? Its a bonus, so I’m thinking not.

 

[Reddog2]

For #1, it is impossible to leave his contract the way it is. His cap hits right now are $51.4m in 2025 and $61.4m in 2026.

For #2 there are a couple of different scenarios:

• One is to cut him outright which would save $1.3m in 2025 while taking a $50m cap hit. This clears 2026 entirely. This method wouldn't leave any room to even sign draft picks and is the least likely. If he signed for another team and we'd recoup up to $10m in cap space if he was paid that much between bonus and salary because of offset language in his contract.
• Another is to designate him a June 1 cut which would force us to carry his entire 2025 cap hit of $51.4m until June. But once June comes we'd be able to split his cap number between $21.4m in 2025 and $30m in 2026. This is the best option we have because it gives us some room this year and while it increases our cap liability in 2026, we have more room to absorb it next year. The same $10m offset applies to this option.
• Third, is to trade him if he agreed to waive his no trade clause. If his contract was left untouched, we'd be on the hook for $40m in 2025, but nothing in 2026.

I think realistically we need to restructure about 10 million to get under the cap to begin the league year. Thus would result in an immediate 8 million dollar 2025 cap savings from prorating the bonus over 5 years. We would have to pay a total cash payout this year to him of at least 20 million dollars instead of only 10 with no restructure.
If we then designated him a July cut, we would get an additional 20 million dollar cap savings in July. If he signed with some other team, we would get an offset of up to 20 million dollars available in our 2026 cap based on what the new team paid him.
Of course the ten million dollars would be adjusted to the minimum required to be cap compliant at the beginning of the new league year.

 

[RaisingTheBar]

Trade him for anything. If no takers release him. This is the right move to make and sets forth the type of season we’re going to have and kick off the rest.

 

[Mojomajik9]

I'm far from a Carr lover, but I think an argument could be made for him to be #3 behind Brees and Brooks. It's not exactly a great list of players we are talking about. In fact, it's a pretty poor history.

I guess maybe you move Hebert ahead of Carr because of the playoff appearances, but if you gave Carr the same team he probably does as good and maybe better than Hebert. Everette I'd probably give you that he is better than Carr. Manning who really knows. He played in a completely different era and with a terrible team but lets give him the benefit of the doubt and say he is better.

So, where does that put Carr? Maybe around 6 with an argument that he could be as high as 3?

Yeah to me it has to be Brees (obv), then Brooks and Manning. Hebert and Everett round out my top 5. But I get it’s subjective really. We don’t exactly have a who’s who of QBs and an argument could be made to put Carr in the top 5. But I just can’t see him (if he never throws another pass as a Saint) being placed above Brooks, Manning or Hebert.

 

[Elvis]

I think realistically we need to restructure about 10 million to get under the cap to begin the league year. Thus would result in an immediate 8 million dollar 2025 cap savings from prorating the bonus over 5 years. We would have to pay a total cash payout this year to him of at least 20 million dollars instead of only 10 with no restructure.
If we then designated him a July cut, we would get an additional 20 million dollar cap savings in July. If he signed with some other team, we would get an offset of up to 20 million dollars available in our 2026 cap based on what the new team paid him.
Of course the ten million dollars would be adjusted to the minimum required to be cap compliant at the beginning of the new league year.

That was a bit confusing to follow and I think has some inaccuracies in it.

All of Carr's 2025 $30m salary becomes fully guaranteed on March 15th, 3 days after the 2025 league year begins. In addition to that, he is due a $10m roster bonus. No matter how we restructure him, he will get that new $40 and it will all count toward the cap at some point.

If we cut him with a June 1 (not July) designation, we would have to carry his entire 2025 cap number until June. However, only $10m of that number would be new money and the rest would be the remainder of his prorated bonuses being accelerated to this year. Those bonuses add up to $40.1 million. When June 1 comes, the guaranteed $10m in new money plus one year of prorated bonus ($11.458m) would be on 2025s cap and the $30m we saved by not paying his $30m in non-guaranteed salary would be available money in June of 2025. The remaining three years of his prorated roster bonuses would move to 2026s cap, which is around $28.6m.

 

[Hedon James]

I don’t disagree entirely but I do think the situation is a little different as it relates to Carr’s relationship with the Saints FO versus where he was at with the Raiders when they were looking to move on. He 100% was not going to do them any favors after they basically benched him. With the Saints there might still be enough good blood there to be more amenable, especially since it really doesn’t feel like he’s all in here anyway.

If Roger’s is gone from the Jets, and Adams wants to play with his best buddy, given that change of leadership at both the GM and HC levels I wonder if there is a world where he might agree to a trade with NY. The Jets new OC, Tanner Engstrand did do a lot of stuff in Detroit that Carr seems to like in the passing game, it could be a good fit. Long shot, I know, but a girls gotta dream.

I'm in agreement....a Carr trade is an unlikely scenario. But in the event that the unlikely starts to look possible, the Jets are one of 2 teams that immediately come to mind as actually making good sense. For all the reasons you cited. The other is the Steelers, who are looking for a solid, steady QB to provide some consistency under center. The Steelers have a pretty solid roster and aren't necessarily looking for a guy to single-handedly win games for them. They just want a guy who protects the football and doesn't make stupid mistakes in critical moments. A guy who may not win the game for you, but he won't lose it for you either. Carr is probably the perfect QB for that Steelers roster!

 

[Elvis]

So here’s a question. Carr is due to receive a guaranteed $10M bonus in March for having been on the roster last year. If he gets cut before his $30M salary becomes guaranteed, would that $10M already paid be subject to offsets if he signs with another team? Its a bonus, so I’m thinking not.

Bonuses count toward offsets as well. Any money owed to him in 2025 would be offset by what he is paid by the new team in salary or bonus. That is why making him a June 1 cut actually makes the most sense for 2025. A trade would be a $40m cap hit, a June 1 cut would be $50m for now, but split between 2025 and 2026 once June comes around and the $10m would come off if he gets paid.

 

[Elvis]

I'm in agreement....a Carr trade is an unlikely scenario. But in the event that the unlikely starts to look possible, the Jets are one of 2 teams that immediately come to mind as actually making good sense. For all the reasons you cited. The other is the Steelers, who are looking for a solid, steady QB to provide some consistency under center. The Steelers have a pretty solid roster and aren't necessarily looking for a guy to single-handedly win games for them. They just want a guy who protects the football and doesn't make stupid mistakes in critical moments. A guy who may not win the game for you, but he won't lose it for you either. Carr is probably the perfect QB for that Steelers roster!

Aaron Glenn is not going to bring Carr to the Jets after taking the hit on cutting Rodgers and the Steelers are more likely to keep one of the guys that played well for them this past year than trade for Carr's contract that has $70m in base salary over 2 years left on it.