Some believe the Carolina Panthers, maybe because of their recent affinity for retreads, are the best landing spot for quarterback Derek Carr. But that doesn’t seem to be the reality of the situation right now.
As first reported by NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo on Friday afternoon, the New York Jets will be bringing in the 31-year-old free-agent passer for a visit this weekend. This’ll be the second team Carr goes to meet, having already spent a few days with the New Orleans Saints last weekend.
Soon after that development broke, CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones added—perhaps unsurprisingly—that the Jets and the Saints are considered to be the top two suitors for the four-time Pro Bowler.
The New York Jets are bringing in free-agent QB Derek Carr for a visit, source confirms @MikeGarafolo report. Carr met with the Saints last week before getting his release from the Raiders.
The Jets and Saints are considered to be the top-two landing spots at this moment.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) February 17, 2023
And then MMQB senior NFL reporter Albert Breer came in with this:
QB Derek Carr will visit the Jets this weekend, per source. The Saints and Jets were the only two teams that reached out to the Raiders on Carr, prior to Carr being cut. NO got to host Carr last week, after agreeing to trade parameters with LV.
(@MikeGarafolo 1st on the visit.)
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) February 17, 2023
Carr, of course, was officially released by the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday. Since then, quite a few pundits have tried to link him to the perpetually quarterback-needy Panthers.
But, given general manager Scott Fitterer’s recent comments about finding a solution under center, this news shouldn’t really come as a surprise. Here’s what he said following head coach Frank Reich’s introductory press conference two and a half weeks ago:
“I don’t think you ever wanna box yourself in—just say, ‘Hey, we’re going strictly draft,’” he stated. “I’ve always said, ‘Hey, that’s the proper way to do it—to draft and develop from a cost-effective standpoint.’ But if we don’t believe that guy is there this year—and we haven’t even started the process, our scouts have—we’ll look at all options. But, in an ideal world, we would be draft and develop.”
And as of now, an ideal world doesn’t include a fourth reclamation project in as many seasons.
