NEW ORLEANS — NFL free agency is off and running, and the New Orleans Saints are the first team to make major waves, with the addition of former Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr.
The new league year officially begins at 4 p.m. ET March 15, which means free agent signings can be made official after that, but because Carr was released Feb. 14 he automatically became a free agent eligible to sign without having to wait.
This means the Saints get their quarterback well ahead of the 2023 NFL draft on April 27, where they now have a first-round pick after trading the rights to former coach Sean Payton to the Denver Broncos this offseason.
Here is where we will have a breakdown of every 2023 NFL free agent signing by the Saints, and how each will impact the upcoming season:
The deal is for four years, per the NFL Network, but it will not become official until the Saints are under the salary cap.
What it means: The Saints likely become the front-runners in the NFC South. New Orleans has struggled on offense since quarterback Drew Brees retired after the 2020 season and has made several attempts to find a replacement, going after Deshaun Watson last year and playing Taysom Hill, Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston, among others. This gives the Saints their starter for several years and allows them to focus on adding offensive weapons. It’s their first sign of consistency at the position in several years, and the move could affect whether Michael Thomas ends up staying a Saint. The wide receiver’s future has been up in the air since his contract was reworked in January.
As for Winston, this signing likely means the end of his tenure with New Orleans. Although Winston has one more year left on the two-year contract he signed last offseason, it became clear he wasn’t the Saints’ top guy after they elected to stay with Dalton as the starter in 2022 after Winston returned from injury. Although Dalton becomes a free agent, the Saints could be looking for another backup this offseason if Winston also goes.
Who dat ⚜️ pic.twitter.com/DIY8gBGuGu
— Derek Carr (@derekcarrqb) March 6, 2023
What’s the risk: The money is the big factor here. The Saints will likely need to give Carr a hefty signing bonus to spread out his cap hit over several seasons. That means significant financial fallout if the Saints cut him early into his new contract. The Saints just got Brees’ salary off the books this offseason. They carried $11.1 million in dead money charges in both the 2021 and 2022 seasons after his retirement because of the remaining portion of the signing bonus given to him after his extension in 2020.
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