The New York Jets will have free-agent quarterback Derek Carr in for a visit this weekend. This report just came from Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.
The news certainly comes as no surprise as the Jets were reportedly the only other team besides the New Orleans Saints to contact the Las Vegas Raiders about Carr, per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated.
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New York Jets will host Derek Carr this weekend:
For a Jets team that has needed a quarterback longer than any other NFL franchise, there is a lot to like about Carr.
He has played nine years in the NFL and turns 32 in late March, likely having at least another three to four good seasons left in him. Availability has been a consistent plus with Carr his entire career. He has started in at least 15 games in all nine years of his career.
Carr has posted some impressive stats throughout his career and made four Pro Bowls (2015-17, 2022). He has a touchdown to interception ratio that is better than 2-to-1, with 217 career touchdowns to 99 interceptions. On average, 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions per year. His career high in terms of touchdown passes is 32, which he had in 2015. He has thrown for 21 touchdown passes or more in eight of his nine NFL seasons. Carr has also thrown for 10 interceptions or less four times, with a low of six, in 2016.
Carr has a career completion percentage of 64.6%, with a high of 70.4% in 2019. In three other seasons, it has been over 67%. He has completed at least 305 passes in every year of his NFL career.
He wrapped up his nine years with the Raiders throwing for 35,222 yards, a per-year average of over 3,900. In four years, Carr surpassed 4,000 yards passing, with a high of 4,804 in 2021. Carr has a career passing yards per attempt amount of 7.1. All of these stats lead to a career quarterback rating of 91.8 for Carr. His personal best in terms of a single-season quarterback rating came in 2020 (101.4).
The main concern with Carr is the lack of winning throughout his career. He has a 63-79 record and led the Raiders to the playoffs twice, but does not have a win in the postseason. On the other hand, Carr has been dealt some bad defenses, as the Raiders ranked 25th or worse four times in his nine years with the team.
Carr does have a relationship with the Jets’ new passing game coordinator, Todd Downing. The two spent three years together with the Raiders (2015-17). Downing was the quarterbacks coach those first two years, working directly with Carr. During the final year they spent together, Downing was the Raiders’ offensive coordinator.
One appeal to adding Carr is that the Jets can design the structure of the contract how they would like. And, they do not have to part with any draft capital.
It will be fascinating to see how things go for Carr and the Jets this weekend and if a contract gets agreed to in the near future. For a talented Jets team in win-now mode, Carr provides a vast upgrade they could surely use.