The New Orleans Saints just added one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL. On Monday, the Saints announced they have signed Derek Carr to a contract. According to NFL Media, the contract Carr signed is for four years and worth $150 million with $100 million and total guarantees. Carr comes to New Orleans after spending the last nine years with the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders.
Carr visited with the Saints and met with several members of the organization over the last two days before agreeing to a deal. He was released by the Raiders on Feb. 14, just before the deadline that would have guaranteed $40 million of his contract over the next two years. Carr is coming off a 2022 season where he threw for 3,522 yards 24 touchdowns and 14 interceptions with an 86.3 passer rating.
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“I had the opportunity to work with Derek at the start of his professional football career,” Saints head coach Allen said Tuesday in a statement, per ESPN. “In addition to his talent, I admired his approach to the game, work ethic and commitment to get better every day in what were the formative stages of his career. From afar and when we played him as an opponent, I saw Derek’s development into one of the most productive quarterbacks in the National Football League. Derek is an outstanding addition to the New Orleans Saints and I can’t wait to get working with him and the rest of our team this offseason.”
Carr was selected in the second round by the Raiders in the 2014 NFL Draft. He has reached the Pro Bowl four times in his career, and his best season was in 2016 when he threw for 3,937 for 28 touchdowns and six interceptions while leading the Raiders to a 12-4 record. In his career, Carr has thrown for 35,222 yards with 217 touchdowns and 99 interceptions with a 91.8 passer rating.
The Saints have been looking for stability at the quarterback position since Drew Brees retired following the 2020 season. Last year, the team signed Andy Dalton who finished the year completing 66.7% of his passes while throwing for 2,871 yards, 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions with a 6-8 record. Jameis Winston started three games and threw for 858 yards with four touchdowns and five picks.
