The New York Giants have been transparent about their desire to find a new franchise quarterback by any means necessary.
While most assume that will come via the 2025 NFL draft, general manager Joe Schoen has left the door open to other possibilities.
“We’ve done a lot of work on the college guys. John (Mara) mentioned earlier that we’ll look at free agency. We can also look throughout the draft, potential trade opportunities,” Schoen said at his year-end press conference. “We’ll look at any avenue we can to upgrade the position. We’ve talked before, in these situations, the film is one part of the equation.”
Could one of those trade options be New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr? ESPN’s Jordan Raanan certainly thinks so.
The trade avenue could also be an option. The future of Derek Carr in New Orleans is one that could come into question. Nothing should be ruled out.
The Saints may request that Carr take a pay cut this offseason but he’s already shot down that idea.
“I wouldn’t take a pay cut,” he told ESPN. “Yeah, I wouldn’t do that. Especially with what I put on tape. Would I restructure? Absolutely. I’ll always help the team that way. But there’s some things that you put out there that you earned.”
If that ruffles feathers in New Orleans, they could look to trade Carr. But then comes another problem: The quarterback has a no-trade clause in his contract.
Without a restructuring or pay cut, the Saints would stand to lose over $50 million in dead money this coming season by trading or releasing Carr. And with a base salary of $30 million, a bonus of nearly $11.5 million, and a guarantee of $10 million, what motivation would he have to accept a trade?
And perhaps the better question is, why would the Giants want to assume the remainder of his contract that has three void years, including a 2027 cap hit of $17,216,000?
Maybe there’s a way for the Saints, Giants, and Carr to make something happen, but it seems highly unlikely.
