Jets GM Joe Douglas shares insight on ‘fantastic visit’ with Derek Carr

Henry McKenna

AFC East Reporter

The New York Jets are balancing the complicated juggling act of pursuing veteran quarterbacks, which they promised to do when the season ended, while also preaching confidence in the halted development of former second-overall pick Zach Wilson.

The Jets were one of the first teams to meet with quarterback Derek Carr after the Las Vegas Raiders cut him this offseason. He seems like a natural fit for the Jets, and there’s plenty of mutual interest, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. Jets general manager Joe Douglas poured on praise for Carr during a press conference at the NFL combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday.

“That was a fantastic visit. Really enjoyed spending time with him,” Douglas told reporters. “Obviously, he’s the only quarterback that I can shed light on for your guys because he’s the only quarterback that’s a free agent. I can say that he left a strong impression with everybody and so obviously we’re going to be exploring the veteran quarterback market this offseason and we’re going to look at every available option.”

When it comes to making a decision on signing a Carr — or any quarterback — Douglas said he “can’t give a direct timetable, a specific timetable.” Carr is in a unique situation. He hit the market ahead of the 2023 free agency period which starts on March 15. So teams might be slow-playing Carr while they wait to see which other options will hit the open market in free agency. And, of course, Aaron Rodgers’ potential trade looms large, with the Packers clearly open to the idea of moving him if he wants to continue playing.

For now, the Jets are openly keen on Carr.

“High-level producer. Phenomenal person,” Douglas said. “After spending some time with him, very authentic. Again, ultra-intelligent. Just very comfortable in his own skin. Highly competitive.”

The tricky part is how the Jets ride the quarterback carousel while managing the development of their youngster: Wilson.

Douglas said newly-hired offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and passing game coordinator Todd Downing are “so excited to get with Zach and start working.” Wilson and the Jets staff “have had some positive discussions,” per Douglas.

“We still feel like Zach has a very high ceiling,” Douglas added. “Obviously the first two years haven’t played out the way that anybody’s hoped,” Douglas said. “I’ve found that when players love this game and when players work their tails off, they usually hit their ceiling and so I feel like Zach definitely has those traits. So still feel strongly that Zach is going to be able to hit his ceiling.”

Wilson had a brutal season, even with the Jets finishing the season at 7-10. Wilson completed 54.5% of his passes for 1,688 yards, six touchdowns and seven interceptions in nine games. He struggled with simple throws and neutered the offense’s ability to make use of their receivers, from rookie Garrett Wilson to Elijah Moore to Corey Davis. The team benched him multiple times and he finished the season as QB3 on the depth chart.

Because Wilson is on his rookie deal, the Jets can afford to roster him and another quarterback, but Wilson’s cap hit ($9.6 million) would make him one of the highest-paid backups in the NFL — and probably the highest-paid. So there is good reason for the Jets to trade Wilson, if they get the right deal. In the meantime, Douglas asserted that the team’s salary cap numbers are in good health, even if it doesn’t appear that way. New York is over the cap by $1 million.

“We hardly have any money pro-rated into the future on our salary cap, so we have a great flexibility to create very large amounts of cap space, if necessary,” Douglas said.

In translation, the Jets can restructure a handful of contracts to free up a huge amount of space by more or less borrowing from their bounty of cap space in 2024. That would be how they afford to add a quarterback like Carr, retain Wilson and keep a handful of their pending free agents — and perhaps even add a few on the open market in March.

Prior to joining FOX Sports as the AFC East reporter, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @McKennAnalysis.

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