Plenty of Saints fans have already had enough of quarterback Derek Carr. By the end of the current season, the Saints might feel the same way.
There’s not much the Saints can do about it, without creating a cap mess.
His contract includes a full-guaranteed salary of $30 million for 2024. In 2024, another $10 million in 2025 injury guarantees become fully guaranteed.
Trading Carr after the season would leave behind a $22.8 million cap charge for 2024. Cutting him before June 1 would stick the Saints with $52.8 million, subject to offset for his $30 million salary. Cutting him with a post-June 1 designation would push $17.1 million of the dead cap charge to 2025.
Still, they’re on the hook for $30 million in 2024, both as cash and cap space. And if they keep him into March 2024, another $10 million becomes fully guaranteed in 2025.
His cap number if he’s on the team in 2024 will be $35.7 million.
Carr has a no-trade clause, which would make it a little harder to trade him. (With or without a trade clause, it’s not easy to trade a starting quarterback; if he doesn’t want to play for the team that would be trading for him, why would that team do the deal?)
Regardless, the Saints have a decision to make after 2023. And cutting Carr could wreak potential havoc on their cap for 2024 and/or 2025.
It wasn’t that way for the Raiders in 2022. After a much-hyped, three-year, $121.5 million extension, the truth was that the Raiders had an out after one year. And they pounced on it.
The Saints won’t have that luxury this time around.
