Derek Carr, opening day starter? It’s looking like he’s ready to return, and there should be a market for him.
His brother, David, spoke on their podcast as if it’s a foregone conclusion that Derek wants to resume his career. He’ll be 35 next month and retired in May of last year, citing a shoulder injury. The Saints retain his rights, so they’ll probably pick up a draft pick in a trade, but they should be willing to work with him (he walked away from $30 million in guaranteed money when he retired, and they’ll be wanting to unload his contract).
Most likely, Carr would be headed to either Minnesota or Las Vegas.
The Vikings need a legitimate Plan B. J.J. McCarthy hasn’t done enough for them to be confident he can be a legit quarterback this year. That’s compelling, with Kevin O’Connell having put together productive passing offenses with a variety of other quarterbacks. And the surrounding personnel is pretty awesome, with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and an above-average offensive line.
The Raiders maybe or probably will draft Fernando Mendoza, but he’s not as compelling as a typical quarterback who would be chosen with a No. 1 overall pick. They could use a second option, or they could opt to instead focus on building up the rest of their roster, perhaps trading down.
On their podcast, the Carr brothers talked about how much Derek enjoyed playing for Klint Kubiak. Before taking Seattle’s offensive coordinator job, Kubiak was the offensive coordinator for the Saints in 2024. Kubiak took the head coaching spot in Las Vegas on Monday.
Recall that in 2024, the Saints opened the season by scoring 47 and 44 points in wins over Carolina and Dallas, and they easily could have beaten Philadelphia in Week 3 (I recall Rashid Shaheed dropping what should have been a long touchdown pass in that game).
Carr isn’t much of a runner. That works against him in typical fantasy leagues. But he’s played well for Kubiak. He went 5-5 as a starter in that 2024 season, averaging 215 passing yards while completing 68 percent, with 15 TDs versus only 5 interceptions. That despite both Chris Olave and Shaheed missing over half of the season.
Heading into that 2024, I wasn’t confident that Carr would be a good fit with Kubiak, who likes to emphasize the run, mixing in downfield passes. But Carr in 10 games connected on 7 passes of 40-plus yards (despite the receiver injuries).
In 2024, 30 quarterbacks started over half of their team’s games. Carr ranked 18th of those 30 in per-game passing production, just a fraction behind the two LA quarterbacks (Justin Herbert, Matthew Stafford).
Admittedly, it’s early. The Seahawks haven’t yet even finished their Super Bowl parade. But my hunch is that Carr will be getting selected in Superflex drafts this summer.
| PER GAME PASSING STATS, 2024 SEASON | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | St | Yards | TDP | Int | Pts/G |
| Joe Burrow, Cin. | 17 | 289 | 2.53 | .53 | 24.6 |
| Baker Mayfield, T.B. | 17 | 265 | 2.41 | .94 | 22.9 |
| Jared Goff, Det. | 17 | 272 | 2.18 | .71 | 22.3 |
| Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 17 | 245 | 2.41 | .24 | 21.9 |
| Sam Darnold, Min. | 17 | 254 | 2.06 | .71 | 20.9 |
| Tua Tagovailoa, Mia. | 11 | 261 | 1.73 | .64 | 19.9 |
| Patrick Mahomes, K.C. | 16 | 246 | 1.63 | .69 | 18.8 |
| Brock Purdy, S.F. | 15 | 258 | 1.33 | .80 | 18.2 |
| Aaron Rodgers, NYJ | 17 | 229 | 1.65 | .65 | 18.1 |
| Jordan Love, G.B. | 15 | 226 | 1.67 | .73 | 18.0 |
| Bo Nix, Den. | 17 | 222 | 1.71 | .71 | 17.9 |
| Kirk Cousins, Atl. | 14 | 251 | 1.29 | 1.14 | 17.7 |
| Geno Smith, Sea. | 17 | 254 | 1.24 | .88 | 17.6 |
| Josh Allen, Buff. | 17 | 219 | 1.65 | .35 | 17.6 |
| Russell Wilson, Pitt. | 11 | 226 | 1.45 | .45 | 17.1 |
| Justin Herbert, LAC | 17 | 228 | 1.35 | .18 | 16.8 |
| Matthew Stafford, LAR | 16 | 235 | 1.25 | .50 | 16.8 |
| Derek Carr, N.O. | 10 | 215 | 1.50 | .50 | 16.7 |
| Jayden Daniels, Was. | 17 | 210 | 1.47 | .53 | 16.4 |
| Kyler Murray, Ari. | 17 | 227 | 1.24 | .65 | 16.3 |
| C.J. Stroud, Hou. | 17 | 219 | 1.18 | .71 | 15.7 |
| Caleb Williams, Chi. | 17 | 208 | 1.18 | .35 | 15.1 |
| Bryce Young, Car. | 12 | 196 | 1.25 | .75 | 14.8 |
| Trevor Lawrence, Jac. | 10 | 205 | 1.10 | .70 | 14.6 |
| Jalen Hurts, Phil. | 15 | 194 | 1.20 | .33 | 14.5 |
| Drake Maye, N.E. | 12 | 188 | 1.25 | .83 | 14.4 |
| Gardner Minshew, L.V. | 9 | 207 | 1.00 | .78 | 14.3 |
| Daniel Jones, NYG | 10 | 207 | .80 | .70 | 13.6 |
| Will Levis, Ten. | 12 | 174 | 1.08 | 1.00 | 13.0 |
| Anthony Richardson, Ind. | 11 | 165 | .73 | 1.09 | 11.2 |
—Ian Allan
