New Orleans Saints
Outside of Derek Carr, the free agent class of quarterbacks isn’t great this season. If they miss on Carr then they’re stuck praying that Anthony Richardson falls to them, risking the addition of Baker Mayfield or Sam Darnold, or even worse, they’ll have to ride with Jameis Winston. I don’t really feel like Carr got a fair shake under Josh McDaniels and that stinks because I think he’s a solid player. New Orleans has a solid young core with lots of upside with guys like Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, Juwan Johnson, and Adam Trautman. He’ll also play behind a good offensive line in the Big Easy with Ryan Ramczyk at right tackle and Erik McCoy at center.
While this all sounds great, there is a glaring issue. The Saints are nearly sixty million dollars over the cap. Yikes. They’ll have to clear some cap space to bring Carr in because it’ll most likely be on a multi-year deal. I don’t anticipate Carr looking to land a kings ransom, but he’s still a solid quarterback and should be compensated as such. Would Carr be a good fit in New Orleans? Absolutely. Does the Saints cap space stand in the way? You can bet your ass it does. I still wouldn’t be shocked if it still happens.
New York Jets
It appears that the Zach Wilson experiment has failed in New York. Watching Mike White take his job was like watching Pat Bateman kill Paul Allen. Wilson was helpless and White came in and buried him.
Much like the Saints, the Jets have a solid young core. Probably even better than the Saints. They’ve got Breece Hall and Michael Carter out of the backfield and Garrett Wilson, Corey Davis, and Tyler Conklin catching passes. Carr to the Jets feels more likely than New Orleans even though he’s a better fit with the Saints. The Jets are only three million dollars over the cap and could give Carr a more favorable offer.
With the hiring of Nathaniel Hackett as the Jets offensive coordinator, Carr would be a great fit. When he had a big arm quarterback like Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, he liked to push the ball downfield. He’ll be able to do that with Carr, Wilson, and Davis. I’d say that the Jets should be the front runner to land the four-time Pro Bowl quarterback.
Houston Texans
This would be an outside the box signing, but it makes sense. Houston has two draft picks in the top twelve and over thirty-seven million in cap space. If they sign Carr, who at 31 years old still has a lot left in the tank, then they wouldn’t have to draft a quarterback at number two overall. This gives head coach DeMeco Ryans and GM Nick Caserio the chance to draft a defense-defining edge rusher in Will Anderson or a run stuffing defensive tackle in Jalen Carter. Then, at 12, they can select a pass catcher for Carr to throw to like Jordan Addison or Quentin Johnston. Either of those players could pair nicely with Brandin Cooks.
Houston also has other options by signing Carr. If they get him on a 1 year deal, which feels unlikely, then they could take Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud at two and give him a year to develop behind Carr. If Caserio signs him on a three to four year deal then they could trade back in the top five with Indianapolis or Detroit, get a haul of picks and depth, and still get a solid defensive lineman like Bryan Bresee or a corner to go with Derek Stingley Jr. like Christian Gonzalez. By signing Derek Carr, the opportunities in the draft are endless.