Derek Carr set to visit the New Orleans Saints: Everything you need to know

The Las Vegas Raiders have high hopes of trading quarterback Derek Carr. There’s one thing stopping them, however: Carr’s no-trade clause. Will the 31-year-old waive his no-trade clause to reunite with Dennis Allen as a member of the New Orleans Saints? If he does, what can the Silver and Black expect to get in return for the veteran signal caller?

Searching around the NFL for a perfect trade can take a lot of time. When it comes to trading Derek Carr, time is something the Raiders don’t have.

If Las Vegas fails to part ways with Carr by February 15th, whether by trade or cut, $40.4 million of the quarterback’s contract becomes guaranteed. This gives the Raiders one day over a week to figure something out, with the team remaining hopeful that a trade partner can be found.

Luckily, the Saints are interested.

Carr is flying to New Orleans tomorrow to meet with Dennis Allen, his former head coach who now coaches the Saints, among other coaches from their organization. If the two sides confirm this is what they want, a trade will happen, and Carr will find himself on a new team for the first time in his professional career.

Let’s back up a second, though. It’s important to understand both how we got here, and what this means.

Derek Carr is visiting the New Orleans Saints; what does this mean?

By understanding how general manager Dave Ziegler is handling Carr’s situation, we’re able to see a bigger picture here.

As soon as Carr was eligible to speak with teams for trade-seeking purposes, via NFL regulations, Ziegler granted him permission to do just that – but only with teams who met the Raiders with a realistic offer for the veteran QB. Now, Carr has permission to speak with the Saints, and is flying out to New Orleans tomorrow. This can only mean one thing: The Saints are not only interested in the Fresno State alum, but put forth a reasonable trade offer, contingent on the two sides agreeing it’s for the best once they speak to each other.

That’s the surface of it. We can dig a bit deeper to find additional information.

Per OverTheCap, the Saints are set to walk into 2023 with negative $60 million in cap room; the lowest league-wide. Carr will carry a $34.8 million cap hit with him next season, although the Raiders can absorb some of that. Either way you look at it, New Orleans needs to dump a big contract or two to make this work.

The biggest cap hits on the Saints’ payroll include: Cam Jordan ($25.6 million), Marshon Lattimore ($22.4 million), Ryan Ramczyk ($21.4 million) and Andrus Peat ($18.3 million). Raider Nation, if you favor one of those players, get excited; one is likely part of this potential trade. Per Jason_OTC, the founder of OnTheCap, cutting players doesn’t get the Saints out of this hole. If they were to cut every player with a positive net cap savings, the Saints would create a mere $23 million, he notes.

Getting an idea of what the Raiders will receive in this potential Carr trade

All-in-all, New Orleans will have to trade one or two of their big contracts this offseason, likely involving one in this deal.

For the Raiders, Lattimore makes a lot of sense. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has remained adamant about adding starting-caliber cornerbacks, and the Raiders struck out with Averett in 2022. Now, Averett, Sidney Jones, and Rock Ya-Sin are all slated to be free agents, with the latter being a priority.

However, if you add Lattimore, retaining Ya-Sin is no longer a priority. It would still be ideal to keep the young cornerback around, but Ziegler now has flexibility at the position. The best part: There’s still enough cap room left to acquire Aaron Rodgers.

While less likely, it’s still possible New Orleans dumps their big contracts in other trades, and sticks with a draft pick for Carr. If this is the route the Saints take, any pick between a third and fifth-rounder should be expected. It’s not so much that Carr is a third through fifth-round caliber quarterback, but the ball is completely in the court of all 31 other teams. The Raiders are just looking to get anything for their quarterback instead of cutting him, and everyone is aware.

Of course, none of this matters if either Carr or Allen decide this isn’t a fit.