When the Raiders signed Derek Carr to an extension prior to last season, they gave him a no-trade clause in his contract. And Carr will be exercising that clause and therefore will be released according to NFL media’s Ian Rapoport.
Buy Raiders TicketsSources: #Raiders QB Derek Carr has informed the team he won’t accept a trade to the #Saints or any other team. The team is expected to release him and he’ll be a top free agent. pic.twitter.com/k0LcLRlDOo
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 12, 2023
Obviously the Raiders had hoped not to simply let Carr go for nothing, but after several days meeting in New Orleans with Saints brass, a deal is not forthcoming.
Even with the Raiders said to be asking for as little as a third round pick for Carr, the Saints were the only team to show any interest in Carr. The Saints wanted Carr to take a pay cut, according to The Athletic, and Carr balked at that.
The #Raiders asked for a third-round pick but were willing to be flexible on compensation. Ultimately, teams didn’t want to take on Carr’s contract, which would pay him an average salary of $40.5M across the next 3 seasons. https://t.co/EogUzU75wW
— Tashan Reed (@tashanreed) February 12, 2023
The Raiders have until Wednesday February 15 to officially release Carr before his contract becomes guaranteed.
There are several teams that are looking for a quarterback right now, but if any of them thought Carr was the answer, they wouldn’t have sat back and let the Saints have the only crack at offering up a trade for him. So, it may not be so easy for Carr to get the kind of deal he seems to hope/think he can on the open market.
Though you’d have to think if it turns out he can’t do better than the offer he got from the Saints, he may just turn around and head back to New Orleans anyway.
