The more news comes out about Derek Carr, the more likely it is that he will be the next starting quarterback for the New Orleans Saints. Carr returned to the Saints’ facility for a follow-up visit, according to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football. The Saints have a lot of work to do this offseason if they want to take control of the NFC South this coming fall. The division is as wide open as it’s ever going to be, now that Tom Brady has officially retired and is out of the picture. One of the questions, and arguably the most important of them all, is the quarterback position.
Andy Dalton is scheduled to be a free agent this offseason, which leaves Jameis Winston and hybrid player Taysom Hill the only two under contract for at least another season. The Saints have to continue looking at all possible options, as much as I personally love Jameis Winston and believes he should be given a fair chance to be the starter. If Carr is who they decide to go with, it would line up with the recent moves head coach Dennis Allen has made recently when putting together his coaching staff. Dennis Allen was Carr’s head coach in 2014 when the team was once named the Oakland Raiders.
The Saints fan base is divided, opinion wise, when it comes to Carr, but not long-time Saints star Cameron Jordan. In fact, Jordan is firmly in Carr’s corner. Per the Pivot Podcast, Jordan believes the Saints are back in the driver’s seat of the division, and have a chance to win now with Carr as their QB.
“Right now you can’t tell me the door ain’t open,” he started by saying. “The moment we get somebody in… you get us a seasoned guy and this year is probably the year to do it—There’s 3 or 4 QBs that I could win today with and I like that for me next year… If we make a play at an Aaron Rodgers, a Derek Carr, even a Jimmy Garoppolo… let’s see what happens.”
Then I started looking into Carr a little further, and came to realize that Jordan may be onto something. For starters, Derek Carr has never had a top 15 defense since entering the league. Not even a top 20 defense. The year Carr led them to the playoffs, their defense was semi-decent. Additionally, Carr threw for over 4,800 yards and put up a 68.4 completion percentage with a 94.0 passer rating.
The Saints have struggled on offense this year. In addition to having an -11 turnover ratio, they averaged only 19.4 points per game this year. It didn’t help that Andy Dalton provided little to no ability to scramble or maneuver in the pocket. At least with Carr, who is 32, has fresher legs and still has the ability to create. There’s also no loss of a deep ball with Carr’s arm, if you look at what he’s done this year with Davante Adams. Speaking of stats, here’s a fun one that should get Saints fans excited.
Derek Carr is 13th all time in 13th all-time in 4th-quarter comebacks, and only needs one to be tied for 10th all time with some very prominent names. Names such as Philip Rivers, Fran Tarkenton, and Vinny Testaverde. He’d need two to pass John Elway for 9th all-time.
In the end, Carr may be for the Saints what Alex Smith was for the Kansas City Chiefs before they got Patrick Mahomes. A serviceable, above average quarterback that will keep the Saints competitive until they find their guy.
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