The New Orleans Saints essentially courted Derek Carr.
They made their intentions clear from the start. They pursued him relentlessly despite competition. And they shared the desire to put a ring on his finger.
A Super Bowl ring, of course.
All that worked: Carr’s signing with the Saints was announced this past Monday.
Carr’s brother, David, shared at least 15 minutes worth of background Wednesday on his son’s podcast, “Harvester Sports.”
“The team knew exactly what they wanted to do, like from the jump: We’re going to target Derek, we’re going to go after him and we’re going to get him,” said David, a former NFL quarterback himself. “And they did, right? That means a lot as a veteran guy, to be wanted. You just came out of a situation where your team didn’t want you anymore. What’s the No. 1 thing you want? Well, you want to be wanted first of all. As as quarterback, I want someone that’s going to say, ‘You’re our guy. Come lead our team.’ Because you have to empower your quarterback that way.
“I think that teams make that mistake a lot of times. Like I see scenarios all the time, without naming specifics, where they don’t do that. And the quarterback is just kind of up and done. It’s like, ‘I don’t know if you have my back.’”
There was never any doubt with the Saints, whereas the Carolina Panthers and New York Jets — the only other confirmed teams to have met with Derek — had options to weigh.
The Panthers own a top 10 draft pick (ninth) that allows them to think outside of free agency. The Jets were — and still are — in pursuit of Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers.
Meanwhile, the Saints’ best draft pick is No. 29 overall, too far down the board for a top passer. Also, they never even uttered the name of another free agent since Derek became available, at least not publicly.
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