Derek Carr didn’t want to be second choice.
The former Raiders quarterback was a top prospect for the Jets before signing a four-year, $150 million contract with the Saints as a free agent in March 2023. The Jets also had their eye on Aaron Rodgers after another disastrous season under Zach Wilson.
“I [signed with the Jets]Carr on Wednesday “Please excuse my opinion.” “It just wasn’t the right timing for me. I still had to hear from four or five teams.”
Carr was exploring his options after an ugly split with the Raiders after eight seasons.
He was benched for the final two games of the 2022 regular season before being waived in February 2023.
He met with the Saints before speaking with Jets officials.
“I remember sitting there [Jets coach Robert Saleh]’And he said, ‘Hey, I’d love to have you. It’s up to you,'” Carr recalled.
Despite the Jets’ interest, their enthusiasm for Rodgers, a four-time league MVP, has not faded.
“The difference in that situation is, Aaron was a 90 millionth MVP, right? You still have to trade to get him, but I’m free and I get to keep the pick,” Kerr said. “I wasn’t asking for as much money as they said I was. I was like, ‘I don’t want to do that. Wherever I go, I just want to win, so spend the money. I don’t care.'”
Carr, a second-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft out of Fresno State, signed with New Orleans about a month before the Jets acquired Rodgers, 40, in a blockbuster trade with the Packers in April 2023.
Just weeks after signing a new, two-year, $75 million contract with the Jets in August 2023, Rodgers suffered a season-ending Achilles injury just four plays into his tenure with the Jets.
In 2023, the Saints finished with a 9-8 record compared to the Jets’ 7-10 record, but New Orleans missed the playoffs for the third straight year despite Carr throwing for 3,878 yards, 25 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Carr has a lot of respect for Saleh, who was the Texans coach when his brother, David, was the quarterback in Houston.
“I probably [Saleh’s] “I’m a big Saleh fan,” he said, noting that his brother believed Saleh had a major influence in signing with the Jets. “Even if he wasn’t my coach, I would run through the 10/10 barrier for him. If he said, ‘I want you to do this,’ then yes, I’d do it. That whole situation was the hardest.”
The Saints open the regular season on Sept. 8 against the Panthers.
Rodgers, who infamously missed the team’s mandatory minicamp due to a scheduled trip to Egypt, will begin his second season with the Jets on Sept. 9 against the 49ers on “Monday Night Football.”
