Category: Derek Carr

Derek Carr confirms his New Orleans Saints jersey number

Derek Carr confirmed his New Orleans Saints jersey number, but what about Blake Gillikin? The free agent punter has a tough decision in front of him:

This is a tough scene: if he’s back with the New Orleans Saints in 2023, young punter Blake Gillikin won’t be wearing the same jersey number. NewOrleans.Football’s Mike Triplett reported that the team’s big free agent pickup Derek Carr will continue to wear the No. 4 jersey he’s used all throughout his playing career, which was confirmed by Nola.com’s Luke Johnson.

Gillikin’s contract with the Saints expired, making him a restricted free agent, though he’s a good pick to return to the team on a new deal. And when he does, he’ll be wearing a new jersey number (Triplett adds that Gillikin gave Carr his blessing to pick No. 4, which was a nice gesture).

What number Gillikin will pick if he returns is anyone’s guess: he wore No. 93 in college at Penn State and No. 33 in high school, neither of which are eligible for NFL punters. Best of luck to him in sorting that out, but first he and the Saints need to hammer out a contract.

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Saints QB Derek Carr and his family draw cheers at Pelicans-Thunder game

Saints QB Derek Carr and his family drew cheers from the home crowd in New Orleans at Saturday night’s Pelicans-Thunder game, via @DillySanders:

Newly-signed New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr took his family to the New Orleans Pelicans game on Saturday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Smoothie King Center. They were able to sit courtside, and were welcomed by the home-crowd fans with an uproar of applause.

Carr and his sons Dallas, Deker and Deakon along with daughter Brooklyn and wife Heather have been given the superstar treatment by the Saints and Pelicans organizations for his first day in the city.

The Pelicans would go on to lose the game to the Thunder by a score of 110-96, giving him a realistic outlook on the current state of the team. Maybe he can make another trip when Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram return.

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4 moves Saints should make after signing Derek Carr and Juwan Johnson

Now that the Saints have their next quarterback and retained key talent, here are 4 more moves they should make, via @RossJacksonNOLA:

It’s been a busy week on Airline Drive for the New Orleans Saints. They now have their starting quarterback in 9-year veteran Derek Carr. Then, following his introductory press conference, the team retained one of their must-keep outgoing free agents, tight end Juwan Johnson. During Carr’s presser, head coach Dennis Allen outlined the plan for the remainder of the offseason. A plan that should not surprise anyone that knows how the Saints operate.

“I think first and foremost, we’re trying to see what we can do within our own building,” Allen said. “In terms of trying to get some of our guys, that would be option A. We’ll see what’s out there in terms of the market. I don’t see us going out in the first day or two of free agency and having some big splash acquisition. I think we’ll do what we’ve always done here.”

While the Saints may not be looking to reel in another big fish, aside from Carr at least, there are still some important things to get done. Here are four moves New Orleans should get done after landing Carr and re-signing key free agents like Johnson and safety J.T. Gray.

Photos, quotes from Derek Carr’s introductory press conference

Photos and quotes from Derek Carr’s introductory press conference as quarterback of the New Orleans Saints:

The New Orleans Saints introduced Derek Carr as their new franchise quarterback on Saturday, fielding questions from a room full of local media after Carr officially put pen to paper on his four-year contract with the black and gold. In attendance were Carr’s family as well as Saints executives like general manager Mickey Loomis, football administration vice president Khai Harley, head coach Dennis Allen, and team owner Gayle Benson.

Here’s a quick recap of the best quotes and photos from Carr’s introduction as the starting quarterback for New Orleans. You can find the full video of the presser at this link.

Look: Derek Carr puts pen to paper on his new Saints contract

Look: Derek Carr puts pen to paper on his new Saints contract ahead of introductory press conference, via @DillySanders:

Former Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr made it official with his new team, the New Orleans Saints, as he signed his contract before holding his introductory press conference with local media on Saturday with his wife and children in attendance, as well as Saints brass like head coach Dennis Allen, general manager Mickey Loomis, and team owner Gayle Benson.

As a bonus, we got a rare glimpse of the man behind the Saints’ salary cap magic. Football administration vice president Khai Harley is the league’s best-kept-secret, and he worked his magic yet again with Carr’s contract, getting his initial cap hit down just $7.2 million in the first season. It’ll go up to $35.7 million next season, but this allows the Saints to make more moves with the immediate future in mind.

Carr’s contract, worth a maximum of $150 million over four years, has him ranked as the 10th-highest-paid player in the league. Everyone else above him is also a quarterback, which includes Daniel Jones who just signed a new deal with the New York Giants. The Saints have a potential out in the contract after the second year, but hopefully Carr plays well enough to where that isn’t a consideration.

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TE Juwan Johnson’s contract extension is just the latest in Saints successes

The Saints continue recent track record of acquiring and maintaining targeted talent with Juwan Johnson’s new contract, via @RossJacksonNOLA:

Another day, another dollar. Well, unless you are New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson in which case it’s more like, another day, another $12 million. The Saints and their latest undrafted success story reached a two-year deal intended to keep the converted wide receiver in New Orleans through 2024.

Johnson was a restricted free agent this offseason, so the Saints had the upper-hand in keeping Johnson around. But instead of leveraging one of three RFA tenders they could have placed on him to assure his roster spot for 2023, the team chose to show the big pass-catching target that they value him with a two-year deal. We now have an early look at the contract’s structure as reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

The Saints three tender choices could have paid Johnson up to $6,005,000. Instead, he gets a 2-year, $12 million agreement with a maximum value of $14.5 million based on contract escalators. He also gets $8.5 million guaranteed over the life of the deal.

Re-signing Johnson has long been considered an offseason must for the Saints. And much like they have shown a penchant to do over the last couple of seasons, they got it done without much fuss. The organization is sure to be excited to have their big-bodied pass-catcher back for the foreseeable future.

Johnson reeled in 42 catches, 508 receiving yards and 7 touchdown catches. As he has continued to develop after transitioning to tight end just a season ago, he’s sure to take another step forward in 2023 and new starting quarterback Derek Carr knows it. “The athleticism that he has a tight end,” Carr said of Johnson while discussing the Saints offensive weapons. “And the way he can move. There’s just so much potential (on the offense).”

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Derek Carr believes he and Saints wideout Michael Thomas can “face the world”

#Saints quarterback Derek Carr feels that he and wideout Michael Thomas can “face the world” together, via @RossJacksonNOLA

In an interview on the Harvest Sports Podcast, New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr’s brother David Carr detailed that Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas was a key part of his brother making the decision to sign with the Saints. And through the courting process, Thomas made quite the impression on Carr. Both players played high school football in California. Thomas played his high school football at Taft High School in Woodland Hills, Callif., a suburb outside of Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Carr spent his time at Bakersfield Christian High School located in his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif. 

Carr began his high school football career in Texas at Clements High School before transferring ahead of his senior year. During his lone year at Bakersfield Christian, Carr led the team to a 12-1 record tossing 46 touchdowns to just 9 interceptions. Thomas brought in a whopping 86 catches for 1,656 receiving yards and 21 touchdown catches during his senior season in 2010. While Carr and Thomas did not play against each other’s teams when the other was rostered, it didn’t keep the two from crossing paths at other times.

“Michael Thomas, they go way back,” David Carr said of Thomas’ relationship with his brother. “And they have history. So, when Derek became available, they were like ‘No, you’re coming here.’” During his introductory presser, the new Saints quarterback described the interaction in more detail.

“The first time I talked to him on the phone, I don’t think he wanted me to get off the phone,” Carr said. “I really enjoyed talking to him, and I told Mickey (Loomis), you talk to Mike Thomas and you feel like you two could go out there and face the world.” Apparently, Thomas wasted no time with strategic courting and cut straight to the chase with the veteran quarterback.

“When he started recruiting and talking to me, he wasn’t even trying to recruit me,” Carr recounted. “He was just like, ‘When are we getting to work, we’re wasting time, time is ticking.’ I was like, ‘Dude, I’m the same way.’ We’ll get there. But I think that our relationship has grown through the process, and I’m looking forward to hopefully making that relationship grow even stronger.”

So, there you have it. Thomas and Carr have are clearly excited about the opportunity ahead. And it’s not jus Carr. Thomas is without a doubt feeling the charge as well. As evidenced by his recent talks with the team. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill reported earlier in the week that the Saints and Thomas were in productive conversations about a possible contract extension.

Thomas celebrated the signing of Carr when the news broke early last week. Considering that and his involvement in courting Carr to the Big Easy, there is reasonable optimism externally that a deal could get done.

The deal would have to be an incentive-heavy one to protect the team in the case of any further injuries after Thomas has been able to appear in only 10 games over the last 3 seasons. But, it would provide him the opportunity to earn his keep with a quarterback he is excited to work with, and with which he has now established a strong relationship.

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What an incentive-heavy contract for Michael Thomas could look like

What an incentive-heavy contract between the Saints and Michael Thomas could look like, via @RossJacksonNOLA:

After playing a key role in courting veteran quarterback Derek Carr to sign with the New Orleans Saints, wide receiver Michael Thomas now looks to be the apple of the Saints’ eye. And Carr may play a key role in his potential return. At the end of the 2022 NFL season, the Saints re-worked Thomas’ deal and it looked like he might have been on his way to a split with the organization. Now, New Orleans is working toward keeping its All-Pro wideout.

Keeping Thomas along with young wide receivers Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed would equip Carr with an outstanding receiver corps, so long as health holds up. And therein lies the biggest concern with making progress toward an extension. Thomas is a dominant wide receiver when he is healthy, one of the most dominant in the NFL. But it’s unmistakable that availability has been an issue having been able to appear in just 10 games over the last three seasons.

The good news is, the Saints have been one of the most creative teams when it comes to contracts and their cap guru Khai Harley could put together a masterpiece of a deal to get it done. New Orleans could construct a contract that is set up to allow Thomas to earn his due for stellar play in 2023 now that he’s paired up with Carr, but also protects the organization if anything were to jeopardize his availability. Here is an example of what they could do, based on a contract used by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers just last year for veteran wideout Julio Jones.

Jones signed a 1-year, $6 million deal with a boatload of incentives that ranged from performance incentives to team-success measures. Of course, several void years were added to help spread out the modest signing bonus as well. New Orleans could take a similar approach with Thomas guaranteeing him a base value but allowing him to work his way to a larger payday. Here’s an example of a structure they could land on:

Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus estimates a one-year, $12.5 million deal for Thomas may be his market. Thomas was due a $15.5 million base salary in 2023 before he re-worked his deal after the final week of the 2022 season. So we’ll work with the $12.5 million as his maximum earning potential:

  • Base contract value: 1 year, $10 million
  • $1.165 million base salary (veteran minimum)
  • $8,835,000 signing bonus with two void years ($2,778,000 per year)
  • 2023 cap hit: $4,110,000 (2023)
  • 2024 cap hit: $2,778,000 (2024)
  • 2025 cap hit: $2,778,000 (2024)
  • 2023 incentives: $250,000 each
  • Catches: 40, 50, 60, 70
  • Receiving yards: 600, 700, 800, 900
  • 50% of offensive snaps played
  • 75% of offensive snaps played

This gives the Saints the ability to entice Thomas into returning because he stands to make a good payday if he were to be healthy for the season and produce, but also protects him if something stands in the way of that. Sure, perhaps a $10 million base value is a little lofty. But Thomas is still one of the most dominant pass-catchers in today’s game when healthy, as proved in his early season scoring acumen in 2022.

New Orleans could drop the base value a few million and raise the incentive payoffs to offset as well. This would allow them to arrive at the same value upside, while not committing as heavily in the foundational deal. Either way, Harley and the Saints are sure to get very creative in this structure as a means of getting Thomas and Carr on the field together. Getting this done would be a major step towards not only competing for an NFC South title but also positioning themselves to make noise in the conference as a whole.

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5 Raiders free agents that could follow Derek Carr to the Saints

The Saints may not be done adding former Raiders to the roster this offseason. Several could follow Derek Carr to the Big Easy, via @RossJacksonNOLA:

As former Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr gets settled in as the New Orleans Saints new starting passer, the timeline of his signing is worth dissecting. The Saints and Carr came to their contract agreement on Mar. 6 this NFL offseason. That gave the Saints signal caller about a week to court potential free agents to join the black and gold in New Orleans. And wouldn’t you know it, there is a long list of former Raiders teammates hitting the market this offseason.

Some of which, could impact the Saints to varying degrees. From bona fide starts, to camp tryouts, New Orleans will have no issues making its new quarterback feel comfortable if he has some teammates he would like to bring along with him. As much as we’d love to highlight big-time players like wideout Davante Adams and tight end Darren Waller, it’s unlikely a trade for either this offseason would make sense. Though a trade for wide receiver Hunter Renfrow should not be considered out of the question.

But that’s for another day. Here are five Raiders free agents that could follow Carr to the Big Easy:

Podcast: The Derek Carr signing, and what’s next for Saints

Podcast: The Derek Carr signing, and what’s next for Saints in free agency with 2023 draft on the horizon

The newest episode of the Saints Wire Podcast is here, hosted as always by Ryan O’Leary (@RyanOLearySMG) with Saints Wire managing editor John Sigler (@john_siglerr). You can subscribe for new episodes released each week on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or your podcast service of choice.

We have a lot to catch up on this week, namely the arrival of a new starting quarterback. The New Orleans Saints signed Derek Carr to a four-year deal just ahead of free agency, and the always-busy NFL Scouting Combine ushered in a whirlwind of news on the path to the 2023 draft. Let’s get up to speed on everything on our plate.

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