NFL Free agency: Derek Carr expected to sign new contract with New Orleans Saints
After his long tenure with the Las Vegas Raiders, Derek Carr is onto a new, fresh start and is rocking a different uniform. According to Adam Schefter, Carr is expected to sign with New Orleans Saints to continue his career. The deal could be finalized as early as Monday
A second-round pick coming out of Fresno State in the 2014 NFL Draft, Carr has spent the entirety of his career with the Raiders, first in Oakland and then in Las Vegas after the franchise moved cities. In his time with the Raiders, Carr made four Pro Bowl rosters and threw for 35,222 yards, 217 touchdowns and 99 interceptions. Carr was a Raiders staple but the 2022 season saw things turn the wrong way.
Carr started and played in 15 games, throwing for 3,522 yards, 24 touchdowns and a career-high-tying 14 interceptions. It became clear at the end of the season that Carr’s time with the Raiders was coming to a close, as he was benched for Jarrett Stidham in the final two games of the season.
More on the 2023 NFL offseason, free agency
The NFL 2023 calendar year is set to begin at 4 p.m. ET on March 15 when contracts running through 2022 will officially run out, making those players free agents. Prior to the beginning of free agency, teams will have a chance to designate one franchise or transition tag player, starting on Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. ET and ending on March 7. Beginning March 13 through March 15 teams will be allowed a legal negotiation with players who are set to become unrestricted free agents.
In addition to NFL free agency, the new year also marks the beginning of all trades being made official by the league office. April 21 marks the deadline to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets while April 26 marks the deadline for teams to match restricted free agent offers sheets. 722 players are slated to become free agents in 2023.
More on restricted, exclusive rights free agents
Players with only three years of accredited NFL experience become restricted free agents. Their original team will have the option to apply first-round, second-round, original-round, and right-of-fight-of-first-refusal tenders on players at escalating price tags. The higher the round, the more expensive the tender amount; however, if a separate team does offer a contract and the original team does not match that round pick will be conveyed from the new team to the original team. Right of first refusal only gives a team the option to match or not. If they don’t match, they get nothing in return. An original-round tender would send a draft pick from whatever round the player was drafted back to the original team if they chose not to match. The original team will have five days to match once a player signs an offer sheet from a new team.