The New Orleans Saints remain in hot pursuit of free agent quarterback Derek Carr, but they won’t panic if they miss out on the former Las Vegas Raiders Pro Bowler. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler shared some reasons for optimism from his sources in New Orleans, with an interesting caveat tacked on about soon-to-be-former San Francisco 49ers starter Jimmy Garoppolo, who becomes a free agent in just a few weeks:
The New Orleans Saints remain motivated to sign quarterback Derek Carr, who will take his free agency into next week. New Orleans believes it has made a compelling case to Carr, with solid pass-catching targets, a good defense and the chance to play in a dome at least 10 games per season. Carr is prioritizing the right fit, and once he commits to that, a potential contract will be hashed out. Garoppolo could be a viable backup plan for the Saints if things don’t work out.
But Fowler’s colleague Dan Graziano adds that Garoppolo is a runner-up for another team besides New Orleans; if Carr’s old Raiders team can’t pull off a blockbuster trade for mercurial Green Bay Packers superstar Aaron Rodgers, they’re expected to pivot to Garoppolo instead. With the wild-card New York Jets actively courting Carr and Rodgers, too (and sharing their own links with Garoppolo), it’s beginning to feel like this free agency cycle will be more of a game of musical chairs than anything.
What’s clearest is that the Saints have little intentions of starting a rookie quarterback in the season-opener. Going after proven veterans like Carr and Garoppolo as instant starters, and hopefully upgrades over Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston, means any first-year pro would have a Herculean task ahead of them in winning the starting job during training camp.
If all things were equal, Garoppolo might be seen as a more-appealing free agent quarterback than Carr — he’s actually won some playoff games during his nine-year career. But Garoppolo’s injury issues are highly concerning. He’s only played a full season’s worth of games once since he became a starter in the NFL, and he’s missed eight games over the last two years. He has real durability issues to worry with, which isn’t going to received warmly by a Saints fanbase who saw at least eight players listed on the injury report every week last season.
So hopefully the Saints can land Carr instead. He’s proven he can survive the grind of a 17-game schedule, and the Saints clearly have a lot to offer him. But they’re willing to use those same assets to try and recruit Garoppolo once his contract with San Francisco expires on March 15. Another upside to signing Carr instead is that he won’t factor into the compensatory draft picks formula like Garoppolo will, so if the Saints lose free agents like Kaden Elliss and Marcus Davenport to other teams they won’t jeopardize any compensation coming down the line. It’s just another factor to be mindful of in the weeks ahead.
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