Category: Derek Carr

Derek Carr shares his take on the Davante Adams trade rumors

Derek Carr says he would welcome Davante Adams with open arms. If he had his way, interest in a trade with the Raiders would be mutual:

Just how would Derek Carr feel about throwing passes to Davante Adams again? The New Orleans Saints quarterback was asked about just that topic, and he says he’d welcome the Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver with open arms if a trade reunited the two former college teammates. But he added that he doesn’t think that’s an uncommon opinion among NFL quarterbacks.

“I mean, I think all 32 quarterbacks would love to play with Davante. We would welcome that. I don’t know if I’ll get in trouble for saying that,” Carr grinned, “I would obviously welcome playing with him again if that ever worked out in our careers. You know he did have 1,500 yards, I think I threw him like 12 touchdowns. So we didn’t win as many games as we thought but it wasn’t all bad. We had fun doing it, that’s for sure.”

Carr said he and Adams vacation together in the offseason with their families, and that they still text each other on a weekly basis. It makes sense. They’ve been friends since they were teenagers enrolling at Fresno State, and they’ve connected on a lot of touchdown passes over the years.

It’s been consistently reported that Adams wants to catch passes from a familiar quarterback, whether that’s Carr or Rodgers, and Carr understands why the receiver may look back on their year together on the Raiders fondly: “I mean, I think it was the second-best year of his career. The narrative that it didn’t work out is correct, because we didn’t win as many games (as we expected). But when it comes to getting him the ball and him scoring a lot of touchdowns? I think it went pretty good.”

So if Carr had his way, interest in a trade between Adams and the Saints would be mutual. And some reports suggest that’s the case. Trade talks are expected to pick up quickly next week, so keep an eye out for movement one way or another.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Derek Carr has only beaten Patrick Mahomes once since the Chiefs drafted him

Former Raiders QB Derek Carr has only beaten Patrick Mahomes once since the Chiefs drafted him. The Saints can help rewrite that narrative:

The New Orleans Saints haven’t played the Kansas City Chiefs much in their history. The two teams have faced off only 12 times over the last 52 years. Saints’ quarterback Derek Carr on the other hand is extremely familiar with the Chiefs.

Familiarity isn’t always a good thing though. Carr began his career with the Las Vegas Raiders, so he shared a division with Kansas City and played them twice a year.  In that time frame, he has played the Chiefs more than the Saints have in their history.

The thing is, Carr has had minimal success. His record is 3-14, and the victories have obviously been sporadic. His last victory came in 2020, and it’s the only time Carr has defeated Patrick Mahomes.

Beyond wins and losses, Carr also averages an interception per contest and has thrown at least one in 7 of the last 8 games. Carr has thrown an interception in each of the Saints’ last 3 games as well.

History and trends do not appear to be on New Orleans’ side. The Saints, as an organization, have a losing record against the Chiefs as well. The record is much closer at 7-5, but it features three straight Chiefs victories.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

NFL Next Gen Stats: Falcons defense had a season-high pressure rate vs. Saints

NFL Next Gen Stats found the Falcons defense had a season-high pressure rate against the Saints, even though Derek Carr had his fastest windup to throw this year:

Everyone knew the New Orleans Saints offensive line was going to be at a disadvantage against the Atlanta Falcons. They were working without two injured starters in Erik McCoy and Cesar Ruiz, and offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak tried to coach around those absences by speeding up Derek Carr’s windup. It worked, for a time, but ultimately the backups blocking for him fell apart.

Here’s what Week 4’s newsletter from NFL Next Gen Stats and Zebra Technologies had to say about the game:

“The Falcons defense generated a season-high 28.9% pressure rate despite Derek Carr averaging just 2.39 seconds to throw. Entering Sunday, the Falcons generated pressure on only 20.0% of dropbacks, the lowest rate in the NFL.”

Carr averaged 2.64 seconds to throw in Week 3, 2.81 seconds in Week 2, and 2.83 seconds in Week 1. So he was taking the snap, dropping back, reading the field and winding up to throw almost half a second faster in Week 4 than in the season opener. No wonder he wasn’t able to get off his first or second read very often.

Everyone’s hands are dirty here. Carr needs to both make better decisions with the ball and throw better passes, even if he’s facing more pressure than usual. That’s why he’s paid the big bucks. At the same time his offensive line needs to do a better job keeping him clean, even if guys like Shane Lemieux and Landon Young are normally spectators on gameday, not starters. And inexperienced starters like Trevor Penning must keep improving, too. The unit did some things well as a whole on Sunday. Connecting those positive moments and sustaining success is going to be their challenge moving forward.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Derek Carr explains why some players haven’t seen as many targets

Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed make up 66% of Derek Carr’s targets and 82% of his yards. Carr explained why he isn’t spreading the ball around as much:

The New Orleans Saints’ passing attack has been heavily concentrated on three weapons: Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed. That trio has been the recipients of 29 of Derek Carr’s 44 completions this year. That’s 65.9% of his completions. They also make up 81.9% of Carr’s yards.

They’ve been essentially the entire passing offense. Foster Moreau is the next most productive receiving threat, and he only has five catches. Juwan Johnson has been less existent in the offense than projected.

Carr explains why this has been the case. Carr kept the explanation simple. The Saints haven’t passed the ball much. They are a run-first team.

The Saints were up big, early in Weeks 1 and 2. That leads to, “some guys maybe don’t get as many attempts as they normally would have.”

“We really haven’t thrown the ball a lot, just in attempts,” Carr said. Thee Saints quarterback ranks 28th in the NFL in attempts. Names like Tua Tagoviloa and Bryce Young are less than 10 attempts behind Carr despite playing one less game. Green Bay’s two starters this season combine for more than Carr.

“When there’s not as many attempts, targets for guys who aren’t first or second in the read go down,” Carr stated. Getting the ball out quickly has also been a point of emphasis given the state of his offensive line, so naturally players at the top of the read are going to get the ball more often.

He maintains it’s important to get others involved because it keeps the defense on their toes. They have to respect other players. Carr wants to make sure he’s walking the fine line of dispersing the ball and getting the top players the ball. Hopefully that strategy continues to do well against the Falcons this Sunday.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Derek Carr’s little league team let him know ‘it’s Falcons week’

Derek Carr says his son’s little league team cares more about Sunday’s Saints-Falcons matchup than their own game:

Derek Carr is in his second year with the New Orleans Saints, and he is fully aware of how the rivalry with the Atlanta Falcons expands beyond the team’s practice facility and into the city.

He was reminded of that this week at his son’s football practice. Carr came to the Saints with New Orleans native, and former Raiders teammate, Foster Moreau. The duo have a good relationship, and they coach Carr’s sons’ little league team together.

Carr shared a funny story about how the upcoming little league game was secondary to the Saints’ upcoming game with the Falcons: “Every parent and every kid knows what week it is.”

Not only do they know what week it is, Carr says “they didn’t care about the game we’re about to play, like ‘Hey, it’s Falcons week.'”

This is a great example of what the game means to fans within the city. Who cares who the little league team is playing? Coach Carr needs to understand the only thing that matters is Saints versus Falcons.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Derek Carr regrets forcing the throw on his last-minute INT

Derek Carr talked about what he saw on his interception, and his regret for throwing a bad pass in retrospect:

The New Orleans Saints’ tough loss in Week 3 essentially ended on Derek Carr’s late interception, when he threw into double coverage while taking a hard hit up the middle. The Philadelphia Eagles defense got the better of him this time.

This throw was definitely ill-advised for a few reasons, as it was into double coverage, to Rashid Shaheed who was not fully breaking into his route yet enough to turn and look for the ball, and it was only second-and-5, which means it was not necessary to go for a deep-ball. Carr understands this in retrospect, having recapped the play in his post-game press conference.

“In that situation a sack is terrible, I was trying to make a tight throw,” Carr said, pausing, “As I was getting hit. I wish I just tried to skip it or get to the next play.”

He is right that a sack would have been terrible, but it also would not have killed the entire drive and game in one play. The decision was definitely a poor one, and forced at best. Hopefully the result will help him steer away from those risky throws in upcoming weeks.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Derek Carr on the adversity of losing Week 3 Eagles game

Derek Carr discussed the adversity in the Saints’ Week 3 loss to the Eagles, and why it’s an opportunity to grow as a team:

The New Orleans Saints’ loss to the Philadelphia Eagles was a tough one, especially since the Saints were coming off a 2-0 start and looking for their first 3-0 start since 2013. Unfortunately, they were unable to overcome a late touchdown by the Eagles and threw an interception with less than a minute remaining on an ill-advised pass from Derek Carr.

Carr later discussed the ramifications of the game and the adversity they now have to overcome. Between mistakes, injuries to teammates, and a gut-punch loss in front of their home crowd it’s a lot of challenges to navigate: “It’s not going to be that easy all the time. For us, it’s a great opportunity. You get hit in the mouth, and with that said, I thought we responded to a tough, gritty game.”

He then continued on to discuss if the team is discouraged or anything in that vein, saying, “You’re pissed because you lost and you’re mad at that. You want to win all these games. At the end of the game we played a really good football team, and we knew what type of team they were.”

This is an opportunity for the Saints no doubt, heading into a divisional matchup with the Atlanta Falcons in Week 4, but losing momentum could also be a difficult thing to overcome. We will see how things pan out in the coming weeks, and see if this brings them together or tears them apart.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Saints featured Michael Jackson songs in pregame warmups after Derek Carr fine

The Saints catered their Week 3 pregame playlist to feature multiple Michael Jackson songs after Derek Carr was fined for last week’s TD celebration:

Shoutout to the New Orleans Saints’ gameday operations crew.  After Derek Carr was fined last week for a celebration paying tribute to the late “King of Pop” Michael Jackson (which the NFL promoted for millions of views), the Saints featured multiple Jackson songs during pregame warmups before kickoff with the Philadelphia Eagles.

These included “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” and “Billie Jean,” which led to the amusement of many fans and media members alike. There was some alleged moonwalking from Philly reporters in the press box.

Carr ended up having to pay $14,069 for last week’s celebration, but maybe he will keep it going if he feels like having some fun and getting the fans hyped up each  week. Either way it was a fun gesture by the Saints.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

NFL has gotten millions of views promoting Derek Carr’s TD celebration

The NFL has gotten millions of views promoting Derek Carr’s TD celebration on social media. They thanked him for it with a $14,069 fine:


This isn’t a good look for the NFL. The league has gotten millions of views promoting Derek Carr’s touchdown celebration against the Dallas Cowboys on social media, complete with an explanation for why he paid tribute to the late “King of Pop” Michael Jackson. Then the NFL thanked the New Orleans Saints quarterback for creating this highlight reel moment with a $14,069 fine.

On TikTok alone the clip has been viewed more than 267,000 times. It’s created even more engagement on Instagram with more than 1.6 million views. It’s since spread far and wide across the Internet as evidence that this 2024 Saints team is different from what fans have had to watch in recent years. And, sure, it’s a great clip. In his postgame press conference Carr joked that he borrowed Jackson’s choreography to remind his kids and younger teammates that he has some dance moves.

At the same time, the people issuing fines from the league office in New York are not the same people editing videos to post online every Sunday. Of course they’re going to react differently when a player grabs his crotch after scoring a touchdown and laughs about it after the game. But that doesn’t make this any less hypocritical. Company policy should be standard across departments. Either outlaw gestures like this (Carr wasn’t penalized for it during the game, by the way) or let it slide and get those clicks, reactions, and impressions online. Not even the NFL should get to have its cake and eat it too.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Report: Derek Carr fined $14,000 by NFL for Michael Jackson TD celebration

NBC Sports reports Derek Carr was fined $14,000 by the NFL for his Michael Jackson-inspired touchdown celebration against the Dallas Cowboys:

The No Fun League has struck again. NBC Sports’ Mike Florio reports that  the NFL has fined New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr a staggering $14,000 for his Michael Jackson dance-inspired touchdown celebration against the Dallas Cowboys last week. Florio noted that Carr was not penalized during the game.

Carr’s teammates loved it, but the league office in New York had a more mixed reception. Players grabbing their crotches have been fined before (notably Marshawn Lynch, who used that celebration against the Saints in  the playoffs) but NFL Network has used those same gestures for promotional advertising on highlight reels. The late “King of Pop” even performed at the Super Bowl with his signature choreography.

But it cost Carr $14,000. The NFL has found a way to have their cake and eat it, too. Because Carr restructured his contract this offseason to play on a veteran minimum salary in exchange for receiving a hefty signing bonus, he’s only getting $71,176 in weekly game checks during the season. So about a fifth of his Week 2 paycheck is going to cover this fine. That’s an expensive dance move. If the tradeoff is Carr keeps leading the offense to 40-point scoring outputs, though? He’ll have cause to celebrate.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]