NFL rumors: Did Saints just make final cap moves to fit Derek Carr?

The Saints continue to circumvent the salary cap with restructurings, leaving everyone wondering just how close they are to signing Derek Carr.

In Mike Triplett’s recent column for NewOrleans.football where he explored “Plan B” options for the New Orleans Saints quarterback, he hinted that the Saints could sign Derek Carr, “maybe in the coming days” (subscription required).

Now, maybe that was just a statement of the fact, that signing could literally come at any time. This is no different than it was several days ago, or several days from now, if Carr is still unsigned.

Or maybe—and this is entirely connecting the dots, not anything Tripp has said explicitly—maybe he has a gut feeling or some kind of information that is fueling this inclusion.

The Saints continued to make salary cap moves Saturday night, adding $12.72 million in salary cap space.

The Saints restructured the contracts of LB Demario Davis and TE Taysom Hill by converting the base salary into a signing bonus, creating $12.724 million in 2023 space per source.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 4, 2023

These movements bring them to $29.9 million in cap space. They’re very close to the $35 million Carr is looking for in free agency. Time to sign Karr? maybe!

Derek Carr to the Saints feels closer than ever

The Derek Carr saga has been a long time coming, and it may end up being even longer. But so far, the Saints are the only team that has shown Carr any kind of real commitment to having him on their squad.

The New York Jets met Carr and hosted him in Jersey. But it seems they want to wait and see whether or not Aaron Rodgers retires.

The Carolina Panthers met Carr during the NFL Draft, but only when both sides happened to be in the same place. They didn’t fly Bakr to Charlotte, which we know of. It felt more like a comfort meeting, rather than a genuine concern for Carolina.

On the other hand, Carr was hosted by New Orleans before he became a free agent, and agreed to a skeleton trade with the Las Vegas Raiders to get their approval to visit him. They committed to the trade just to get Carr in the door.

This must mean something to Karr, even if it doesn’t quite affect him.

And now, the Saints are moving everything they can from the mountains within the salary cap for Carr’s landing. This, again, must mean something to Carr, who has been more or less out of a job with his latest team.

Carr to New Orleans? With each day, it starts to feel more comfortable for both sides. NFL rumors can go on and on again now, please!

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