Derek Carr Signs With Saints

The Saints get their quarterback of the future in Derek Carr, filling their top priority of the offseason.

Author:
John Hendrix
Publish date:
Mar 6, 2023 10:51 AM EST

In this story:

The New Orleans Saints have their new quarterback for the 2023 season. According to multiple reports, the team has signed veteran Derek Carr to a four-year deal.

Carr and his wife were hosted by the Saints for a two-day visit during a period in which he might could have been traded, and both clubs had the framework of a deal in the works prior to the visit. However, Carr was released and became a free agent immediately able to sign with any team, but this process took a few weeks. Two other teams, the Panthers and Jets, were in on him, and there were even reports of two other teams on the table recently.

Dennis Allen believed heavily in Carr as a rookie, naming him the starter of his 2014 team. Although it didn't last, the relationship did. When the Raiders came to town to play the Saints last season, Carr was asked about his relationship with Allen.

"DA [Dennis 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. I love him, I loved having him. Obviously I didn't know what had gone on before I got here, so all of a sudden, boom it's four games, boom, he's gone. I'm like, 'What the heck. Is this how it's supposed to go? Like what is going on?' And come to find out all the cap problems and this and that and all the things that he had to try and work through, it's tough. And then you see him leave, and all the success that he's had as a defensive coordinator. So to see him get another chance at being a head coach, I was so happy for him, because I loved him."

"We had open communication for the short time that we had, and I'll never forget it. I mean, he gave me my chance in this league, and I've told him 100 times and I'll tell him 100 more times how thankful I am for the chance that he not only drafted me, but to trust me when he asked me if I was ready to start." -Derek Carr on Dennis Allen

Carr further added during that press conference, "He's a brilliant mind, really smart, cerebral, can break down an offense, can really put pressure on quarterbacks, make it hard on them. From a quarterback perspective as a defensive coach, I had a great relationship with him. We had open communication for the short time that we had, and I'll never forget it. I mean, he gave me my chance in this league, and I've told him 100 times and I'll tell him 100 more times how thankful I am for the chance that he not only drafted me, but to trust me when he asked me if I was ready to start. And obviously the rest is history. So it's crazy that it's almost been 10 years now, that it's been that long, but him and I, we've always stayed close, again obviously except this week."

Carr now enters a situation in which the Saints need him at his absolute best. The NFC South is fairly weak right now, and New Orleans has seemingly jumped up a few notches by getting Carr as their quarterback. The team still has a ton of work to do with some other glaring holes at other positions, but getting this position solved for will now allow them to put in that work.

This move may spell out what Dennis Allen's future will be with the Saints. For now, he got his guy and we should count it as a win for the Saints. They can now move on to focus on other pressing priorities.