NEW YORK — The Jets have officially entered the Derek Carr sweepstakes.
Gang Green will bring Carr in for a visit this weekend, a source confirmed to the New York Daily News. This will be the second team that has met with Carr this offseason. NFL Network was the first to report that Carr was coming in for a team visit.
The Raiders released Carr on Tuesday after the veteran quarterback declined to waive his no-trade clause. Las Vegas needed to release Carr before more than $40 million of his contract would have become guaranteed.
Last weekend before the Raiders released him, the Saints brought Carr in for a visit. But Carr told Las Vegas he wouldn’t accept a trade to the Saints or any other team.
With the ability to sign with any team almost a month before the start of free agency, Carr is a hot commodity. As he is looking for his next landing spot, the 31-year-old will have a chance to take more team visits to figure out the best situation for him in the second chapter of his career.
In nine seasons for the Raiders, Carr passed for 35,222 yards and 217 touchdowns — both franchise records. Carr finished with a 63-79 record as a starter for the Silver and Black.
During his time with the Raiders, Carr helped the team qualify for the playoffs twice. Once in 2016, but he was injured and unable to play in the Raiders’ wild-card loss to the Texans. Then Las Vegas made the playoffs in 2021 before losing to the eventual AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals.
Out of all of the teams potentially targeting Carr, the Jets may have an advantage. Earlier this week, the Jets hired Todd Downing as their passing game coordinator.
That is significant because Downing and Carr worked together previously with the Raiders. Downing was the Raiders’ QB coach (2015-16) and later their offensive coordinator (2017) and he was credited for helping Carr become a Pro Bowl quarterback and an MVP candidate in 2016.
The Jets certainly could use a player like Carr under center. Since 2010, the last time Gang Green made the playoffs, the team has had a turnstile at the quarterback position.
In 2021, the Jets drafted Zach Wilson second overall, but he has failed to live up to expectations during his short time in Florham Park. In 22 games over two seasons with the team, Wilson has thrown for 4,022 yards, 15 touchdowns and 18 interceptions as the Jets are 8-14 in the games he has started.
Wilson was also benched multiple times throughout the 2022 season. The first time was following an embarrassing 10-3 loss to the Patriots on Nov. 20. Then after Mike White’s rib injury against Buffalo in early December, Wilson once again became the Jets starting quarterback in games against the Lions and Jaguars. The team lost both games and Wilson was benched for third-string quarterback Chris Streveler after completing 9 of 18 passes for 92 yards in a loss against the Jaguars.
Wilson and Streveler are currently the only quarterbacks on the Jets roster. White and Joe Flacco, both of who started games for the team in 2022, will be unrestricted free agents at the start of the new league year, which begins on March 15.
