Derek Carr Could Get Signed Sooner Than Later

February 11th, 2023

“Derek, be careful with Ira. He will relentlessly nag you until you buy him lobster bisque at Berns.”

The Bucs have been linked to Raiders quarterback Derek Carr. So far, only one team is anywhere down the road to acquiring him.

That would be the slimy Saints who wined and dined Carr in New Orleans earlier this week.

However, Ari Meirov of The33rdTeam.com believes Carr, if he doesn’t want to go to New Orleans, could be with a new team, maybe the Bucs, before the free agency dinner bell rings next month, on March 15.

Carr has a roster bonus deadline of Feb. 15 due some $40 million. It is expected the Raiders will release him before then. If that happens, as Meirov explains, he becomes an immediate free agent. So he would get a jump-start on pending free agents who are not allowed (cough, cough) to negotiate with teams until the legal tampering period begins on March 13.

Meirov explains in a The33rdTeam.com video below how this is the same strategy once employed by J.J. Watt.

Bids are likely to be higher now because teams are flush with 2023 cap room. Once the free agency dinner bell rings, teams may have less cash because of other re-signings and other deals.

52 Responses to “Derek Carr Could Get Signed Sooner Than Later”

  1. Tye Says:

    Can’t get past the whole who will be OC/QB fast enough!

  2. sasquatch Says:

    We’re not going after Carr. This is just the NFL speculation industrial complex doing what it does… Unfounded rumors with no basis in reality draw in believers, generate clicks, and make money for advertisers. That is all this is.

  3. Vlad The Impaler Says:

    I’m not sure about Carrs team 1st attitude or his motivation.
    The last thing we need on a Bowles led team is a stat padding, me 1st guy at QB setting a bad precedent for other players

  4. Jay Marino Says:

    Honestly you buck fans are narcissist. You win one Super Bowl after years of irrelevant teams and then you collapse into irrelevance for another 5
    20 years! No one would choose Tampa over New Orleans! Get a grip and get real 🙄

  5. Vlad The Impaler Says:

    Bowles can do that all by himself.

    That said he’s probably the most skilled option available….but so was Jeff George

  6. sasquatch Says:

    keep buying the speculation… not happening.

  7. CleanHouse Says:

    Vlad the Impaler, what do you base this comment on? I’ve always and only heard exactly the opposite about Carr. Total team guy, hanging tough through total chaos.

  8. Steven L. Benner Says:

    Sad to say but the Bucs are done and for a long time. Blain Gabbert all out sucks he might be taller than Kyle Trask but Trask will get the job done better. Look at the Playoff game against the Falcons…
    He NEVER SCORED!!!! NOT EVEN A FIELD GOAL!!! Once Brady was taken out of the game the scoring stopped. Derek Carr is OK but l can’t really see him as a good fit in Tampa. It’s funny how All of the Coaches were Fired except Toilet BOWLES!!!??? He’s the top one that alowed us to fail and become the hand-off team! He needs to go!!! Until he is gone the Buccaneers will remain the Suck-aneers… There’s really no QB that can fix Toilet BOWLES’ poor judgment. Sorry-

  9. Goatfarmer Says:

    We could have Derek Carr, Derek Jeter, Derek Trucks, Derek Derelict, Shaun King (the fat one now), Y.A. Tittle, Ho Chi Minh, Jesus Alou or Jesus Christ. It won’t matter, the record will be the same as long as the Toadster is confusing and demotivating his players, tolerating soft play and missed assignments on the field and encouraging a lack of aggression. He is the worst I’ve seen.

    Easiest way to have a million dollars is to start with a hundred million.

  10. Mord Says:

    Even if the Bucs have decided they’re not interested or not cap-capable in Carr, they absolutely MUST stay in the rumors and talks to do as much as they can to ensure that an NFC South opponent overpays for him

  11. HC Grover Says:

    Ugggh

  12. stpetebucfan Says:

    I don’t understand how either the Bucs or the Saints can be in the Derek Carr sweepstakes!

    The only team in worse cap shape than the Bucs is New Orleans!

    The Saints and Bucs are more than twice as much over the cap as the next closest team.

    Look at Gabbert’s 2015 season. Gator fans are saying Trask is the next coming of Brian Griese…good if not great. I trust the coaching staff on this one. The biggest problems are now on Defense with fragile DB’s set to make boatloads of money, LVD getting long in tooth, and Shaq trying to come back from what can be a career ending injury. Two good running backs, lots of great targets, and an OL that could become solid if the pieces fall in place.

  13. mg Says:

    Derek the dud.
    Best move by any team so far – Vikings hiring Todd Bowles to run the defense.

  14. FortMyersDave Says:

    I have to agree with Goatfarmer. The guy does not excite the masses, he is ultra conservative and has poor clock management skills. I would suggest if BA was still head coach the Bucs may not have been great but they likely could have beaten Green Bay, Pittsburgh and Cleveland as those losses were close ones where Bowels was way too conservative and did not drop the hammer on Leftwich for his insane predictability. Given that the NFC South is very weak, 8-9 could win it again but with Bowels at the helm it is doubtful the Bucs will win the close games without Tom Brady. 8-9 could be 5-12 or 4-13 with the current roster and expected cap hit casualties. Bucs are not alone, I think the Aints are in the same boat which is why it is ridiculous that these 2 clubs are supposedly Carr’s destination. Seems like a smokescreen to me.

  15. Buc4evr Says:

    Bucs are 60 mil over the cap now that Brady has filed retirement papers. No way are the Bucs going after Carr. Carr is a second tier QB, that could help the Bucs win in this weak division , but not a SB. I guess we get to see what we have with Trask next season.

  16. K_bassuka Says:

    Derek Carr sucks, I don’t know why people keep on holding hope that he will turn into a good QB when clearly the writing is on the wall, you will have to pay a ton of money for Carr and he already peaked. Save the money and focus on the future of the team .

  17. Fansince76 Says:

    Bucs will take the brunt of his $35 million in salary cap dead money in 2023 versus being able to divide it between 2023 and 2024 if they had altered the voidable years in his contract and then waited until after June 1 to process the retirement.

    THEY ARE ROLLING WITH TRASK THIS YEAR.

  18. Allbuccedup Says:

    Thomas Brown must be a Bowles choice!

  19. Doug Says:

    Sadly the Bucs have decided to flush and send the team down the toilet bowles, the worst head coach in football

  20. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    Can’t see either the Saints or Bucs signing Carr…..maybe the Panthers…..but he will likely go to the Jets of WTF.

  21. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    Vlad The Impaler Says
    “The last thing we need on a Bowles led team is a stat padding, me 1st guy at QB setting a bad precedent for other players.”

    Stat padding. I’ve been thinking about that term. So Carr has successfully completed plays…with other players…and people are calling it stat padding.

    How dare he complete passes which result in improved stats. The nerve!

  22. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    stpetebucfan Says
    “I don’t understand…The only team in worse cap shape than the Bucs is New Orleans!”

    Spotrac currently (as of last night) lists the Bucs as 55m over the cap. But Tom Brady only just turned in his retirement papers yesterday. Once it is official, our cap will be reduced by 35m, putting us only 20m over the cap.

  23. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    Buc4evr Says
    “Bucs are 60 mil over the cap now that Brady has filed retirement papers.”

    Not accurate.

  24. Beej Says:

    Carr may or may not be a step up from what we have, but he’s not the future, and he’s not a Super Bowl qb

  25. Buc You Says:

    Free Agency doesn’t start until mid next month… I actually had to snooze the football pages on Facebook for 30 days because of all the non stop “predictions”.

  26. Defense Rules Says:

    Bonzai …

    Per a Spotrac Tweet from 1 Feb 2023 …

    ‘The automatic void date on Brady’s deal will also need to be moved back from its current March 15th deadline.
    This maneuver allows the $35.104M of dead cap left on Brady’s contract to split up into $10.776M for 2023, & $24.32M for 2024.’

    That’s just for his 2023 salary CAP hit of $35.1 mil (we can split it between 2023 & 2024 if we choose). Brady ALSO carries a void year 2024 CAP hit of $10.8 mil, PLUS a 2025 hit of another $10.8 mil AND a 2026 hit of another $2.8 mil. Aahh yes, the never-ending gift of kicking the salary CAP can down the road.

  27. Pewter Power Says:

    Just except he’s not coming here. Every year Bucs fans are desperate for some free agent out there. This team didn’t have the cash and will probably go young at quarterback.

    What reason did Licht draft a quarterback in the second round. He can’t be desperate for a top free agent otherwise he’s admitting he made a bad draft pick. Just go young and get out over with, there is no other choice

  28. stpetebucfan Says:

    @Bonzai and D.R.

    Thanks for the capology. I must confess at the end of the day I do not really understand the cap. Teams whine and whine and then voila they still find a way to sign players they want.

    I guess the real question for you two is how much do you trust the Bucs’ cap guy? He seems to be pretty good at juggling numbers. What say ye?

  29. mark2001 Says:

    I heard he spent two days in NO with his wife, and had quite a bit of time with them. That LV has basically agreed with the terms, and that was why he has visited NO. They had to have a tentative framework in place. Now it seems it is up to Carr. Since Feb. 15th is the bonus deadline, I’d expect we would probably hear something by valentines day.

  30. mark2001 Says:

    FT. M Dave. I agree he doesn’t excite the masses. That being said, I’m not sure the masses will be excited about anything after the first few games next year.

  31. DYnasty Says:

    Amazing how many people in the comment section don’t know football.

  32. Bojim Says:

    Go back to the NO site Jay.

  33. Whatever Says:

    no way the Bucs can pay him

  34. THOMAS PFALZ Says:

    Who in the hell is Thomas Brown. He’s a nobody. I’m sure Bowles had a hand in this. When they got rid of Lefty, Bowles should have been gone also. Wasted season coming up.

  35. Bucfan Says:

    With Bowles returning, the Bucs will have a top pick in next years draft. Get a QB & new coach next year!

  36. Jeff Says:

    Carr would be insane to come to TB when New Orleans wants him.

  37. Duane Says:

    The Saints have a long history of acquiring cast off quarterbacks, and foolishly expecting success. That pickup is not likely to excite Thomas and he and his big contract will likely take another season off. Totally on brand for them. They will continue to yuck it up in a weak NFC South and consider that dominance and front run as usual. Hes not Brees, and they were only able to squeeze one championship out of him, so good luck with that Nawlins.

  38. Fan from Germany Says:

    Run with Trask and Gabbert. Best option cap space wise and well find out how good they are. Either it turns out well or we have great draft position. Its great optionality at lowest costs

  39. Dooley Says:

    @Duane

    If the Saints indeed trade for Carr, Slant boy is as good as gone. Isn’t Kamara likely to be serving an 8 game suspension for KO’ing that dude in Vegas last season?

  40. BelleGladeBuc Says:

    I love how a New Orleans fan comes on a Bucs website and bashed the area.

    Last I checked, the Saints, with a HOF QB in Drew Brees and one of the best coaches in the NFL in Sean Payton were only able to win 1 Super Bowl in their 14 years with the Saints.

    Bucs have 2 Super Bowl Championships. The Bucs have more Championship success than the Saints.

    Before Brees and Payton the Saints were just as irrelevant as the Bucs were for much of both franchises existences.

    After Brees and Payton left the Saints will become just as irrelevant.

    How long have the Dolphins been searching for a franchise quarterback after the HOF legend Marino retired?

    How long did the Broncos struggle to replace HOF legend Elway when he retired with a franchise QB until signing another HOF legend in Manning in Free Agency?

    How long did the Bills wait to find their replacement for the HOF legend Kelly in Josh Allen?

    The Montana to Young or Favre to Rodgers situation is rare in the NFL.

    It’s hard to find the next great quarterback for your franchise. The Saints and the Bucs will both deal with that issue and not be a Super Bowl competitor until they find that franchise Quarterback to replace the great legends in Brees and TB12.

    Saints fans seem to forget that they wore brown paper grocery bags over their heads for a very long time at the Super Dome just like us Bucs fans did at the ‘Ole Sombrero. They called themselves the Aints and we called ourselves the $ucks.

  41. Letsbucinggo Says:

    Could not afford Carr if we wanted to. The way I see it is Smith, Gage, Lenny and Mason are all cap casualties thats about 31 mil in cap space and still another 24 mil to go. Maybe redo Godwin, Evans and Davis salary you could just about do it. Then you can’t sign anyone but low price FAs. Bye Dean, Bunting etc.

  42. Joe Swanson Says:

    Don’t know if Carr still talks to Gruden but if he does he would not come here I am sure.

  43. Cobraboy Says:

    If you gotta kick the cap down the road, don’t do it for a Carr.

  44. Jerseybuc Says:

    Hey jay marino. Yea because the saints were so good in years past without brees. See they are right back to being the aints real fast. Go away dope

  45. Rod Munch Says:

    I hope the Saints trade for Carr, give up a lot of picks, and extend Carr’s contract. That will be hilarious, and doom them to going 6-11 every year for the next decade.

  46. Infomeplease Says:

    I have no insider info but believe the Bucs will field K.Trask and look for an OC that has a proven record developing young qb s. They will improve the cap situation by doing marginal signings and releasing some of the free agents. The rebuild will have started hoping for the best but not counting on it. I don’t see Bowles making it to season 3 as Bucs HC. IMO.

  47. mark2001 Says:

    Before some get too carried away, let me remind the old timers how the Saints signed an undersized QB coming off a serious arm injury that did pretty well for them. His name was Drew Brees. He looked like he had potential, but it was a crap shoot that paid off.

  48. mark2001 Says:

    ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that the Raiders are seeking a third-round pick in exchange for Carr.

  49. steele Says:

    Joe, please. Please stop praying for Carr the loser, at the exclusion of every other QB on the market. I would almost take almost any QB listed in the top half of free agency over Carr. I would prefer shoving Trask out there, which is saying a lot about how bad Carr is.

  50. Bring back the lawn chairs Says:

    I say we sign jamiss for a buck fifty and go for 0!
    First pick in 2024 baby!
    Go full lawn chair on defense and seal the deal!

  51. Esteban85 Says:

    How and why

  52. Bucsalltheway Says:

    I would love to see us make a trade for garner minshew he would be great back in FL