Saints QB Derek Carr says unofficial departure from Raiders galvanized him: ‘It kindled a fire in me’

New Saints quarterback, Derek Carr, is looking forward to a fresh start in New Orleans.

During a lengthy introductory press conference on Saturday, the 31-year-old detailed his nine-year tenure with the Raiders organization.

Carr also expressed excitement about what his future with the Saints could hold. One player that Carr is looking forward to building a solid relationship on the field with Michael Thomas in 2023.

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The Saints restructured Thomas’ contract in January, and he could eventually leave for a different NFL team. But Carr seems to anticipate that he’ll be throwing passes to receiver when the season starts.

Carr and Thomas built a good relationship off the field and connected as the veteran quarterback navigated the free agency process.

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Carr said, “When he started recruiting and talking to me, he wasn’t even trying to recruit me, he was like, ‘When are we going to start working? ‘” We are wasting time, and time is running out.

“I was like, ‘Dude, I’m the same way.'” We’ll get there. But I think our relationship has grown through the process, and I’m looking forward to making this relationship even stronger.”

The Saints also re-signed tight end Juwan Johnson, giving Carr another reliable target to capitalize on.

But Carr’s departure from the Raiders certainly affected him. “It’s difficult because I love a lot of the people there. At the same time, it’s a breath of fresh air,” he noted.

Carr said that the informal break with the Raiders served as a catalyst for him. He thinks he got a second chance to prove himself.

And he said “I just go in and show my work ethic, prove it again…” I understood the business side of it and why things were happening, all of that. I mean, I get it. But it hurts. For me as a competitor, I wanted to finish with my teammates. … kindled the fire in me that I’ve always been used to, but made it hot. It gave me such excitement.”

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The four-time Pro Bowler has also shown appreciation for his time with the Raiders.

“It wouldn’t be me if I didn’t say thank you to them. I had nine wonderful years there, lots of great memories, lots of hard times, lots of fun times, and lots of kids since those days.”

Carr’s relationship with Saints head coach Dennis Allen played a role in his decision to sign with the Saints. Allen was the head coach for the Raiders when Carr was drafted in the second round in 2014.

“DA, how do I feel about this guy, I hope I’m sitting here telling you what I think of him and the opportunity,” Carr said Saturday. “You gave me my first chance, every time we’ve all played since we haven’t been on the same team, I’ll always say thank you.”

After the Raiders let Karr scout a potential trade, the Saints soon began contacting him. Carr eventually visited the Saints in person. Carr even revealed that the team was “blowing up” his phone with calls and texts.

“I don’t think he’s just a veteran quarterback. I think he’s the veteran player we wanted,” Allen said. “I don’t know there was that thing that, well, we have to go out and find any veteran quarterback. We wanted to find the quarterback we wanted. Like I said before, we clearly identified that Derrick was our number one goal and we [went] And they took him out.”

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Carr’s four-year contract with the Saints likely won’t become official until the Free Agency Creatures on March 15th.

The team also offered former starting quarterback James Winston a restructured contract and has him until the start of the new league year to accept, sources tell ESPN. The former No. 1 draft pick has one year remaining on a two-year deal he signed in 2022.