Getty New Orleans Saints QB Derek Carr.
Derek Carr has only been a part of the New Orleans Saints for a short time since signing with them on March 6. In that brief time, he quickly gained the respect and admiration of his new teammates.
Carr spent nine years as the starting quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders but didn’t have much playoff success. The team went to the playoffs twice during his tenure and didn’t win a single game. Las Vegas will be hosting the Super Bowl for the 2023 season, which could offer Carr the perfect chance to get revenge against his old team. Saints star pass rusher Cameron Jordan would like to send his new teammate to his old stadium for the Super Bowl.
“I expect the Super Bowl,” Jordan said on June 19 during an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “I expect to take Derek Carr, DC4, back to Vegas where he just left and have a return run at the Super Bowl.”
The Saints went 7-10 last season and missed the playoffs with Andy Dalton starting 14 games. Dalton had a passer rating of 95.2 last season, which was better than Carr’s 86.3. Is he good enough to turn the Saints from a non-playoff team to a Super Bowl contender? That will be one of the most interesting storylines to watch this season.
Michael Thomas Praises Derek Carr
Derek Carr was beloved by his teammates on the Raiders but was the fall guy following a disappointing 6-11 season where he was benched following a Week 16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now that Carr is in New Orleans, he has shown he can quickly develop relationships with new plays. Wide receiver Michael Thomas has been impressed with Carr since he joined the team.
“He wants to win just like I want to win,” Thomas said, via a June 9 article from Katherine Terrell of ESPN. “He’s just very disciplined. He’s on top of his stuff. He came here for a reason. That’s the same type of confidence I hear in his voice – he came here for a reason, he came here to win. You can feel the sense of urgency. He loves ball. It’s not hard working with him. … He tells me what to do, I tell him where I’m going to be, and we’re on the same page. We can execute at a high level.”
Cameron Jordan Has High Expectations for New Orleans Saints
The Saints have missed the playoffs in two straight years since quarterback Drew Brees retired. The team hasn’t been back to the Super Bowl since 2009. Despite that Cameron Jordan is confident that the team can go far this year.
“Nobody has ever walked into a season (and) been like, ‘Ooh, I hope we win 10 games,'” Jordan said during the SiriusXM NFL Radio appearance. “No, I’m trying to win each and every game that we play. My expectation is being 21-0, 22-0, whatever it takes to get to a Super Bowl. I want to beat each and every team we line across.
“Every tackle, who I’m never gonna know their names, but like every dud that’s out there, we’re trying to beat the breaks off of them. I’m trying to get to each and every quarterback. The reality is, we have potential. The mentality is, we want to as a defense take over each and every game. And there’s no allowance to be like, ‘Hey, I think we could be a 12-5 team.’ I think we can win each and every one of these things.”
Not certain if that headline was specifically written to mislead, but congratulations. Mission accomplished.
Will definitely put “heavy” on my blocked list for the highly manipulative headline. I encourage others to follow.