The first domino of the NFL offseason has fallen, and his name is Derek Carr. According to NFL Media, Derek Carr is signing a four-year deal for $150 million with the New Orleans Saints. Carr was easily one of the biggest free agent names on the market, and now he has a new team.
New Orleans visited with Carr on multiple occasions and was a popular pick for where he would land, and now they have their new starting QB locked up. That being said, let’s discuss why the signing of Carr might be a destructive decision for New Orleans in the long run.
Derek Carr Will Cost The Saints Too Much Money
So what now? Carr’s contract pays him $37.5 million annually, which is hefty. The worst part is that the Saints will have to figure out the logistics of a mega deal like this to stay under the cap limit. If New Orleans hopes to recover financially, they will have to cut ties with various players.
Guys like Michael Thomas and Jameis Winston come to mind for helpful cuts. For example, Michael Thomas just restructured his contract, which means the Saints can trade him pre-June first to save $12,815,764. Likewise, if New Orleans sacks Jameis Winston, they save another $12.8 million. New Orleans also restructured the contracts of Taysom Hill and Demario Davis, roughly saving them another $12.7 million.
Sure, the Saints are moving people and saving money, but is Derek Carr truly worth the cap hit? All this money saved up goes into one player who has played ZERO snaps in a Saints uniform. Carr has $100 million in total guarantees, with $70 million fully guaranteed. The Saints would likely have to restructure his deal multiple times to save for future cap space. The first year in New Orleans would be manageable money-wise, but the later years of this new deal could hurt the Saints’ wallet.
So is he worth it? Based on these projected numbers, he is not until he proves it on the field. So pay him what you want, but hopefully, the Saints do not break the bank on Carr, who is nothing more than a stat book QB.
Final Thoughts
Sure, Derek Carr is entering an ideal situation, but it’ll be costly. Carr has one playoff appearance in his career, which was a loss to the Bengals. He might have the stats that look good on paper, but that is about it. He had Adams to throw to, and they still fell short.
The reality here is that Carr still has a lot to prove. He has legit talent around him in Chris Olave and Alvin Kamara (depending on his legal situation). The Saints could be a great team, but that is all just some vision in their heads until it actually happens (IE, Phillip Rivers, Carson Wentz, Russell Wilson). If they can figure out the cap space to keep Carr well-paid but not hurt them financially, good for the Saints. There are still way too many question marks around what Derek Carr will provide in New Orleans, and that should be their worry besides getting underneath the cap limit.
