With an astounding salary figure, the New Orleans Saints added four-time Pro Bowl quarterback and free agent Derek Carr to a contract deal worth $150 million, including $100 million in guarantees. The contract was structured to accommodate the Saints cap space, which has restructured a few contracts by New Orleans General Manager Mickey Loomis.
During Carr’s nine years with the Las Vegas Raiders, he set the record for all time passing with over 35,000 yards, 217 passing touchdowns, and 3,201 passing completions. A California native that graduated from Fresno State, Carr was a two-time offensive player of the year for the Mountain West Conference, won the Sammy Baugh Trophy in 2013 for being the best collegiate quarterback, and had his number retired recently by his college.
All of these figures, where does his ties to Mississippi fall in? Carr’s football #4 was the homage to one of the greatest ever, Mississippi Gulf Coast native, Southern Miss legend, and one of the best National Football League quarterbacks of all-time Brett Favre.
Despite the reverence from Carr to Favre for his “gunslinger” mentality, the NFL Hall of Famer thinks good of him.
“I don’t know if I would consider him a gunslinger,” Favre expressed to the CSNBayArea.com a few years ago. “I think he’s a little more polished and I mean that with all due respect. I think he’s done a tremendous job in Oakland/Las Vegas. I like to watch him, he’s a good player.”
Although, Carr was an MVP candidate in the past and led the Raiders to their only two playoff appearance in the last two decades, he was benched in the last two games of 2022. Coming off one of his best seasons in 2021, things changed quite a bit for Carr with a coaching change and the loss of a top receiver, which may have led to the worst season of his career since being a rookie.
“I never envisioned it ending this way,” Carr stated via social media. “That fire burning inside of me to win a championship still rages.”
Offensively, the New Orleans Saints have one of the most talented veteran units, but the injury bug hit them hard last year. Having seven players with 23 Pro Bowls should be explosive, however, injuries, age, and many additional factors led to a 7-10 record and a failure to make the playoffs in two consecutive years.
Even though Carr may not have a direct connection with Favre, his occasional on-field antics have become well known with similarities to the Green Bay star. As reported by 247Sports, the former Raiders quarterback was featured during a training camp video making fun of teammates during training camp and making random comments to the opposing players and referees.
While Carr is not the same style of player that Favre is, his pedigree may be what the Saints need to put the franchise back in the winning column. With the NFC being wide open following the retirement of Tampa Bay Hall of Famer Tom Brady, Atlanta cutting ties with starter Marcus Mariotta, and the Carolina Panthers being unsure of who will call the signals, the New Orleans Saints may have found their answer.
The California native may not be the next Drew Brees, but a simple functioning offense could help the Saints manage games and provide a supportive system to the talent of the defense.
The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of SuperTalk Mississippi Media.
