The first domino of NFL free agency has fallen, with now former Raiders QB Derek Carr headed to New Orleans to be the next signal caller for the Saints. Carr and the Saints agreed to terms on a 4 year, $160 million deal that will pay Carr $70 million guaranteed, and allow the Saints some cap flexibility in a deal that appears on paper to be beneficial to both sides.
Carr gets a nice contract with a large amount of guaranteed money, and the Saints get a major upgrade at the most important position on the field and should be considered the favorites to win a division title in an extremely weak NFC South.
While Carr’s tenure in Vegas ended rather unceremoniously, the Saints clearly believe he still has good football left in the tank and can perform like a top-10 signal caller. The QB position was the Saints biggest issue in 2022, and even just average QB play likely would have won them the division.
All of the sudden, the Saints have (for now) by far the best QB situation in the division. The Buccaneers are seemingly looking towards the unproven Kyle Trask following Tom Brady’s retirement, the Panthers going with Sam Darnold or Matt Corral, and Desmond Ridder is the Falcons only current option.
Dennis Allen now simply must make this work for the Saints. After a disastrous year one in which the biggest issue was quarterback play, he kept his job but will now be firmly on the hot seat and will not make it to a year three if the Saints miss the playoffs in this division with a legitimate top 10-15 starting QB under-center.
