NEWS NOW: The Raiders’ quarterback is preparing the team to saints….
In order to save themselves $40 million in completely guaranteed salary debt, the Raiders benched and sent quarterback Derek Carr home at this same time last year. This season, the Saints won’t have that luxury.
They are essentially already liable for forty million dollars. According to Carr’s agreement, a $30 million payout is expected in 2024; the full amount is guaranteed. In March 2024, the remaining $10 million will be fully guaranteed. This is due in 2025. The Saints can only avoid the additional $10 million by cutting Carr before the bonus vests.
Would they give him $30 million to disappear so they wouldn’t have to pay him an additional $10 million? Most likely not. However, given that an offset duty would apply to the 2024 wage, a new coach might be prepared to absorb the loss if a coaching change is imminent (Saints supporters frequently advocate for one).
If he was available, how much would someone else pay him? He is nearly competent enough in his skill set. Many teams are lacking that. What is the value of it?
There’s also the chance of a trade. Getting another team to pick up the current financial burden the Saints have on Carr would not be simple at this moment. Would the Saints cover his salary of $15 million?
In New Orleans, a possible quarterback switch might not even require a coaching change. Dennis Allen concluded his statement when asked about Carr’s performance during Friday night’s loss to the Rams, adding, “I thought he played OK.” (To be fair, he began by stating, “I thought he played well overall.”)
Allen was then asked the more pertinent question about how Carr handled pressure.
“I think he was fine,” Allen said. “I think he was fine. [Editor’s note: Sometimes, we say things twice in an effort to convince ourselves of what we’re saying.] I think, obviously, there’s sometimes, again, where maybe get through his progression a little bit quicker, maybe hang in there a little bit more. There’s a lot of things that go into it, but I thought overall, it was a solid game for him.”
Allen was being charitable. He’s not going to call out Carr publicly. The truth is he didn’t, and doesn’t, handle pressure well. He is, frankly, a game manager.
And that’s OK. He’s a top-of-the-bottom-half-of-the-league quarterback. Good enough to get you close to the playoffs. Not good enough to consistently get you there, unless you’ve got a great defense and great running game around him.
Is he worth a $40 million investment? The Raiders decided a year ago that he’s not. The Saints have already made the decision that he is, unless they’re willing to pay him the difference between what he can get elsewhere and $30 million to go away.
I’m not saying the Saints will, or that the Saints should. It would be foolish, however, to think they aren’t at least considering their options. After nearly a decade in the league, Carr is who he is: pretty good.
In today’s NFL, pretty good doesn’t win championships — unless there’s a pretty dominant team around him.
Leave a Reply