Countdown To Kickoff - 2024 New Orleans Saints
Sources of information: neworleanssaints.com / pro-football-reference.com / ras.org / wikipedia.org / overthecap.com
September 4th, 2024 - Derek Carr - Number 4
We have only four days remaining until the New Orleans Saints Week 1 kickoff against the Carolina Panthers, making today’s player of the day Derek Carr, the current wearer of the No. 4 jersey.
Let’s take a look at the background of Derek Carr before looking into what we can expect from him in the 2024 season.
Carr was born in Bakersfield, California, the youngest of three children to Rodger and Sheryl Carr. He and his family lived in Bakersfield before relocating to Sugar Land, Texas, in 2002 when his oldest brother, David Carr, became the first overall draft pick of the then-expansion Houston Texans. Carr and his family moved back to Bakersfield for his senior year, and he attended Bakersfield Christian High School. After his high school football career finished, Carr was named the National Player of the Year by the National Private Schools Athletic Association in 2009.
Carr enrolled as an early-entry freshman for the spring semester at Fresno State, where his brother David also played quarterback, in 2009 so he could participate in spring football with the Bulldogs.
Carr received the 2013 CFPA Elite QB Award for his performance over three seasons at Fresno State.
While at Fresno State, he wore number 4 as a homage to his favorite NFL player, Brett Favre. Carr's number was retired by Fresno State during halftime of a game against Incarnate Word in 2017. On July 14, 2019, Carr received a mural at his former college, Fresno State University.
Carr was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft with the 36th overall pick. He was the fourth quarterback to be selected that year. On May 16, he was assigned his requested number of 4. On May 21, he was signed to a four-year, $5.37 million contract with a $2.2 million signing bonus.
On August 28, Carr impressed the coaches and fans in the Raiders' fourth and final preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks, after coming into the game as the backup to Matt Schaub and taking the Raiders down the field for three touchdowns in the first quarter, then throwing another touchdown on their next possession of the second quarter, before being relieved. For his short playing time in the game, he went 11-of-13 for 143 yards and three touchdowns for a nearly perfect quarterback rating.
(Imagine the excitement by the Saints Fan Base if a Rookie QB played a near perfect quarter of football in the preseason.) :shrug: :)
On September 1, Raiders head coach Dennis Allen announced that Carr would start over Schaub in the team's opener against the New York Jets and mentioned that the decision was not week-to-week; Carr would be the Raiders starting quarterback moving forward. Carr therefore became the first rookie quarterback in Raiders history to start a season opener and was also the only rookie quarterback from the 2014 draft class to start in Week 1.
On January 31, 2023, it was announced that he would be replacing Joe Burrow of the Bengals for the 2023 Pro Bowl.
The Raiders released Carr on February 14, following his decision to decline waiving a no-trade clause in his contract.
On March 6, 2023, Carr signed with the Saints on a four-year contract worth $150 million, reuniting him with former 2014 Raiders head coach Dennis Allen. After a slow start to the season with the Saints sitting at 5–7, Carr helped lead them down the stretch to a 4–1 record to close out the season where he passed for 14 touchdowns in five games, including a four-touchdown game in Week 18 against the Falcons. Carr had six games on the season going over 300 passing yards. In the 2023 season, Carr started in all 17 games and finished with 3,878 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, and eight interceptions. The Saints went 9–8 in 2023, a winning season but one without a playoff appearance.
Sources of information: neworleanssaints.com / pro-football-reference.com / ras.org / wikipedia.org / overthecap.com
September 4th, 2024 - Derek Carr - Number 4
Countdown to Kickoff: Derek Carr is the Saints Player of Day 4
We have only four days remaining until the New Orleans Saints Week 1 kickoff against the Carolina Panthers, making today’s player of the day Derek Carr, the current wearer of the No. 4 jersey.
Let’s take a look at the background of Derek Carr before looking into what we can expect from him in the 2024 season.
- Name (Age): Derek Carr (33)
- Position: Quarterback
- Height, weight: 6-foot-3, 215 pounds
- Relative Athletic Score: 8.56
- 2024 salary cap hit: $12.688,000
- College: Fresno State
- Drafted: 2nd Round, 36 pick overall, 2014 (Raiders)
- NFL experience: 10 seasons
Carr was born in Bakersfield, California, the youngest of three children to Rodger and Sheryl Carr. He and his family lived in Bakersfield before relocating to Sugar Land, Texas, in 2002 when his oldest brother, David Carr, became the first overall draft pick of the then-expansion Houston Texans. Carr and his family moved back to Bakersfield for his senior year, and he attended Bakersfield Christian High School. After his high school football career finished, Carr was named the National Player of the Year by the National Private Schools Athletic Association in 2009.
Carr enrolled as an early-entry freshman for the spring semester at Fresno State, where his brother David also played quarterback, in 2009 so he could participate in spring football with the Bulldogs.
Carr received the 2013 CFPA Elite QB Award for his performance over three seasons at Fresno State.
While at Fresno State, he wore number 4 as a homage to his favorite NFL player, Brett Favre. Carr's number was retired by Fresno State during halftime of a game against Incarnate Word in 2017. On July 14, 2019, Carr received a mural at his former college, Fresno State University.
Carr was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft with the 36th overall pick. He was the fourth quarterback to be selected that year. On May 16, he was assigned his requested number of 4. On May 21, he was signed to a four-year, $5.37 million contract with a $2.2 million signing bonus.
On August 28, Carr impressed the coaches and fans in the Raiders' fourth and final preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks, after coming into the game as the backup to Matt Schaub and taking the Raiders down the field for three touchdowns in the first quarter, then throwing another touchdown on their next possession of the second quarter, before being relieved. For his short playing time in the game, he went 11-of-13 for 143 yards and three touchdowns for a nearly perfect quarterback rating.
(Imagine the excitement by the Saints Fan Base if a Rookie QB played a near perfect quarter of football in the preseason.) :shrug: :)
On September 1, Raiders head coach Dennis Allen announced that Carr would start over Schaub in the team's opener against the New York Jets and mentioned that the decision was not week-to-week; Carr would be the Raiders starting quarterback moving forward. Carr therefore became the first rookie quarterback in Raiders history to start a season opener and was also the only rookie quarterback from the 2014 draft class to start in Week 1.
On January 31, 2023, it was announced that he would be replacing Joe Burrow of the Bengals for the 2023 Pro Bowl.
The Raiders released Carr on February 14, following his decision to decline waiving a no-trade clause in his contract.
On March 6, 2023, Carr signed with the Saints on a four-year contract worth $150 million, reuniting him with former 2014 Raiders head coach Dennis Allen. After a slow start to the season with the Saints sitting at 5–7, Carr helped lead them down the stretch to a 4–1 record to close out the season where he passed for 14 touchdowns in five games, including a four-touchdown game in Week 18 against the Falcons. Carr had six games on the season going over 300 passing yards. In the 2023 season, Carr started in all 17 games and finished with 3,878 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, and eight interceptions. The Saints went 9–8 in 2023, a winning season but one without a playoff appearance.