New York Jets fans are excited about the prospects of the 2024 season and hopefully competing for a Super Bowl with Aaron Rodgers.
However, New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr just dropped a major what-if update on a Barstool Sports podcast appearance that would have changed everything.
“I remember sitting with [head coach Robert] Saleh, he’s like, ‘Look man we’d love to have you, like it’s up to you,'” Carr revealed on the “Pardon My Take” podcast. “I promised myself I had to go through the process because I didn’t want to sign and think well what did that team think? Or what could they do? So that was hard.”
Carr was then asked directly if he could have made the decision to sign with the Jets right then and there while he was visiting the team in February 2023.
“Yeah, I could have, I could have, but it wasn’t the right time for me. There was still like four or five teams that I had to hear from.”
Derek Carr was ready to sign with the Jets because of Robert Saleh
@rhoback
Derek Carr’s Comments Completely Change the Perception
When Carr visited the Jets in February 2023 and then left without signing, the thought process outside the building was that the Jets didn’t want to commit to Carr because they wanted Rodgers.
In theory, they let him walk out the door instead of the other way around.
However, Carr revealed that wasn’t the case at all.
“[I knew they wanted Rodgers] and the thing which was different in that situation like you know Aaron’s like a nine-billion-time MVP right and all that kind of stuff, but you still have to trade for him, whereas I’m free. You can still keep those picks. I wasn’t asking for as much money as whatever they say your market is. I was like, ‘I don’t wanna do that because wherever I go, man, I just want to win’ and so use the money I don’t care,” Carr revealed.
Carr, 33, ended up signing a three-year deal for $150 million with $100 million in total guarantees with the Saints. According to Over The Cap, Carr is the No. 11 highest-paid quarterback in the NFL with a $37.5 million annual salary. Rodgers is also tied for No. 11 with the same annual salary.
“I am probably like his [Saleh’s] biggest fan. Like I absolutely 10 out of 10 love him. I would run through a wall for him. Even if he’s not my coach, if he was like, ‘I need you to do this. Yes sir, I would do it,'” Carr explained on the podcast. “My brother knew coach Saleh and he knew I loved New Orleans but he’s like you’re going to see Saleh, he was like you’re probably going to stay. He was thinking I was going to sign because of Saleh.”
Carr reiterated that trading for Rodgers that offseason “wasn’t a guarantee” for the Jets and that he controlled the situation. He could have signed with the Jets and thus Rodgers would have been traded somewhere else or stayed in Green Bay.
The Jets Present Would’ve Completely Changed
Rodgers only played four snaps for the Jets in 2023. Carr on the other hand ended up appearing in all 17 games for the Saints. The former Fresno State product threw for 3,878 passing yards, completed 68.4% of his passes, and finished with 25 passing touchdowns to 8 interceptions.
Despite some very solid stats, the Saints finished 9-8 and missed the playoffs for the third straight year.
In Jeremy Fowler’s ESPN quarterback rankings ahead of the 2024 season that is voted on by scouts, coaches, and league execs, Rodgers placed No. 8. Carr wasn’t on any portion of the list which included a top-10, a six-man honorable mention list, and two other quarterbacks having received votes.
What would the Jets have looked like in 2023 with Carr at the helm instead of Rodgers?
“A Carr season feels like an ugly, unhappy 8-9 with everyone now talking about how the Jets need to get out of his contract. Saleh and [general manager Joe] Douglas potentially [getting] canned after the season. I’ll say Rodgers ends up with the [Las Vegas] Raiders [via trade] in this scenario,” Joe Caporoso of Badlands revealed on Discord.
