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Derek Carr was the first big domino to fall to kick off the 2023 off-season, exiting the Las Vegas Raiders after being drafted by the franchise in 2014. Now, the New Orleans Saints quarterback is attempting to avoid the same fate in the 2024 offseason.
At 3-4 and with a primetime loss on his resume, Carr has his work cut out for him. As he focuses on the present, analyst Peter King turned to look back at what went wrong with the Raiders.
Speaking on Pro Football Talk, King believed Tom Brady played an indirect role in the transition. He feels Raiders coach Josh McDaniels wanted a Tom Brady-like mind and Derek Carr didn't have it.
Here's how King put it:
"[00:03:43] I do think that there was a higher degree of optimism in Derek Carr's ability to process information very quickly to make the throw absolutely on time and to be able to run a precision offense kind of the way Tom Brady ran it in New England."
He continued, explaining how Carr left McDaniels and potentially Dennis Allen with "worry":
"You never had to worry about any of that stuff with Tom Brady. But it appears watching Derek Carr over the last year and a half, you really have to worry about it with Derek Carr. [00:04:16]"
New Derek Carr era off to bad start as Saints fall below .500
The New Orleans Saints lost what mercifully became a thriller in the second half of what was shaping to be a primetime blowout this week. Down 24-9 at the start of the fourth quarter, Carr lit up the Jacksonville Jaguars' secondary and Trevor Lawrence hit a wall offensively.
The game ultimately went down to the final seconds, with Carr missing multiple opportunities to get a touchdown and force overtime. Lawrence found Christian Kirk, whose 44-yard touchdown ensured a 31-24 win for the Jaguars.
Carr has posted just one winning season since 2017 and finds himself below .500 once again. As a result, fans of the Drew Brees era in New Orleans are bracing for the worst, with fans repeatedly booing the Saints at various points during their latest game.
When that happens, a change at quarterback often takes place not soon after.
Of course, "soon" is a relative term. Carr is locked in through the end of the 2024 season from a financial standpoint. That said, it does give the team an opportunity to use him as a bridge quarterback in 2024 if they decide to draft a rookie.
However, the problem is that there are nine teams ahead of the Saints in the 2024 NFL Draft order at the time of writing. This includes Russell Wilson's Denver Broncos, Justin Fields' Chicago Bears and numerous others.
The Saints would need to essentially lose out to get a real shot at a top rookie prospect. At their current pace, they'll be decently out of the playoff hunt but not so far as to get a good pick for a quarterback.
Will the New Orleans Saints double down on the Derek Carr era or plan their escape now? At just one game under .500 and still the majority of the season to go, no decision needs to be made quickly. That said, one can surmise that they've seen enough to get some mental cogs turning.
If any of the above quotes are used, credit Pro Football Talk and H/T Sportskeeda.
