Not many players are more respected across the NFL than New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis. So, a co-sign from the team-leader can go a long way. This week, Davis was asked about the potential of the Saints adding Derek Carr, a personal friend of his, to the roster. The 2022 Pro Bowler gave a glowing review.
“Derek Carr is a great friend of mine,” Davis told NFL Network’s Andrew Siciliano. “So, any chance you get a chance to play with somebody that you know personally off the field is… You don’t want to pass on those opportunities because you don’t always get them.” The personal relationship between the two players is clearly strong, but Davis has a lot of respect for who Carr is on the field as well.
“Definitely a game-changing quarterback,” Davis said of Carr. “Can come in and make our locker room better. And one thing I know about our organization is they’re going to do whatever they feel like is best to put us in the best position to win. And so I trust them with that decision.”
Carr doesn’t always get a lot of shine as a game-changer in NFL conversations, but some numbers back it up. Since the retirement of quarterback Tom Brady, Carr ranks No. 4 among active NFL passers with 16 game-winning drives and No. 3 in fourth-quarter comebacks with 28. With 7 single-score losses last year, the Saints could have benefited from some late-game heroics.
And before too much is made of Davis’ locker room comment, he gave shine to his 2022 teammates as well. He added: “Personally, I’m cool with whoever is out there. The guys that we have in our locker room are great friends of mine as well. But adding firepower to the locker room could never hurt.”
He’s right. It never hurts to add more talent to the roster. That has been a long-standing principle for the Saints, and it looks like that could continue at the most important position on the field here in 2023.