Derek Carr recently told ESPN’s Katherine Terrell wasn’t willing to play ball with the New Orleans Saints by taking a pay cut, and that is fine. Players are owed the guaranteed money in their contracts. It’s his rationale that is the issue.
Carr said he doesn’t feel he should take a pay cut, “Especially with what I put on tape,” referring to his level of play this year and last.
That statement comes off extremely full of himself and delusional. This isn’t to call him a terrible quarterback, but that’s a statement that should be reserved for a few elite players at a position. He’s not one of them.
Spencer Rattler had his struggles, but the season didn’t start going down when the rookie backup became the starter. Carr started in the first three games of the seven-game losing streak. Three of his wins came against teams picking top-10 in this year’s NFL draft, and one of them (the Carolina Panthers) beat him in a rematch.
The offense stagnated with Carr conducting them. You saw times where he would begin to panic after the pressure got there early in the game. You saw struggles with ball placement. And these issues go back to last year.
When Carr essentially tells you to check his tape, you’d think he was in the MVP race. He did some good things in Klint Kubiak’s system, but those faults are present and prominent as well. The first two weeks were best when he just needed to be an efficient complement to a dominant running attack. He only completed 30 passes in those first two games, both wins, but the Saints went 1-3 when he was asked to attempt 30 or more passes this season (not counting a primetime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs where he threw 28 times).
Undeniable isn’t an accurate description of Carr, but the veteran is acting as if a pay cut is beneath him. He could’ve made his point without putting a target on his back, but his poor choice of words paints a less-than-flattering picture of him.
