The New Orleans Saints are in hot pursuit of former Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, who would likely be an upgrade over the level of play they’ve seen out of Andy Dalton, Jameis Winston, and Trevor Siemian over the last two years (to say nothing of spot-starts for Taysom Hill and Ian Book along the way). And Saints general manager Mickey Loomis doesn’t see Carr as just a band-aid for their problems under center. He says Carr could be their starter in 2023 and beyond.
“I think if we were lucky enough to get him, I think he’s a long-term solution,” Loomis told SI.com’s John Hendrix at the NFL Scouting Combine on Wednesday. “About as long as if you had a draft pick and hit on it right away, although you still got to re-sign them at some point.”
Teams often hope to open a four- or five-year window to compete by hitting on a drafted quarterback, but Loomis believes the Saints could achieve the same result by acquiring a proven veteran in Carr. He’ll turn 31 on March 28 but left the Raiders as the franchise record-holder in every major passing category. Even in a down year in 2022, he threw as many touchdown passes as Dalton, Winston, and Hill combined for in New Orleans (24).
Obviously it’s going to be tough to compete if Carr is pulling in $35 million or more per year as has been reported. But the Saints are well-positioned to work around those salary cap commitments with Khai Harley managing their contracts. It’s a bit of a high-flying tightrope act to pull off, but they’ve been here before with Drew Brees at quarterback. The approach would be similar with Carr leading the offense.
