Derek Carr puts pen to paper on his four-year deal worth a reported $150m with New Orleans Saints

Derek Carr is officially a Saint after the quarterback inked his contract with New Orleans Saturday. 

The Saints agreed to a four-year deal worth a reported $150m to acquire the outgoing Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Monday.

And it became a done deal Saturday as New Orleans’s official Twitter account shared photos of the 31-year-old putting pen to paper on the contract. 

Carr’s future with the team that drafted him in 2014 was effectively over before last season even ended. The four-time Pro Bowl selection was benched in late December. The Raiders were 6-11, missing the playoffs one year after finishing 10-7 and reaching the Wildcard round. 

Details of the new deal remain unclear, but the four-year contract is worth $150million, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport. The agreement also includes $100m in guarantees, according to Rapoport. 

Derek Carr is officially a Saint after he inked his contract with New Orleans Saturday

The Saints agreed to a four-year deal to acquire the outgoing Raiders quarterback Monday

The move represented the first domino to fall in the NFL’s off-season quarterback market.

Quarterback-hungry teams such as the New York Jets, have now had to turn their attention to Green Bay Packers legend Aaron Rodgers, who is still mulling his NFL future as he remains under contract through the 2026 season, when he will be 43. 

The Jets are said to be ‘optimistic’ over securing a trade for Rodgers after team officials reportedly flew out to meet the quarterback this week. 

Carr met with the Jets brass last week before reportedly reaching an agreement with the Saints. 

‘We are excited to welcome Derek Carr to the New Orleans Saints,’ Saints executive vice-president and general manager Mickey Loomis said Monday. 

‘Derek’s experience, leadership and skillset will be an asset to our offense.’

New Orleans head coach Dennis Allen added: ‘I had the opportunity to work with Derek at the start of his professional football career.

‘In addition to his talent, I admired his approach to the game, work ethic and commitment to get better every day in what were the formative stages of his career.

After agreeing terms earlier this week, the 3-year-old and the organization made it a done deal

‘From afar and when we played him as an opponent, I saw Derek’s development into one of the most productive quarterbacks in the National Football League. Derek is an outstanding addition to the New Orleans Saints and I can’t wait to get working with him and the rest of our team this offseason.’

Carr was released by the Raiders on February 14 after declining to waive his no-trade clause – something that would have guaranteed the final $40m on his contract over the next two years. 

The decision allowed Carr to start the search for a new employer, which appears to have come to an end before NFL free agency even gets started on March 15. 

Carr, 31, followed in his older brother David’s footsteps by enrolling at Fresno State, where he played alongside future Raiders teammate, wide receiver Davante Adams.

Taken in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft, Carr stands as the Raiders’ all-time leader in passing yardage (35,222) and touchdown passes (217), but is just 63-79 as a starter and hasn’t won a playoff game with the Silver and Black.

He was thought of as a potential stop-gap solution in New York, where the Jets hope to resurrect young Zach Wilson’s career or find another franchise quarterback in the near future. 

Instead, Carr has decided to go to New Orleans, where the Saints went 7-10 last year as starter Jameis Winston battled a back injury. The former Heisman winner signed a two-year, $28m deal with New Orleans before the season, but was ultimately demoted in favor of Andy Dalton.