The NFL’s new league year starts Wednesday. With that comes free agency, a chance for teams to bolster their rosters.
The Times-Picayune’s Saints writers and columnists gathered at the roundtable to discuss the latest on the Saints. Here’s the first of four questions:
The Saints found their new starting quarterback, signing Derek Carr. What is the Saints’ ceiling with him at quarterback?
Luke Johnson: It’s hard to say exactly what the ceiling is. If everything goes right for the Saints (in ways that everything has gone wrong the last two years, in terms of injuries), then I don’t think it’s out of bounds to say they could compete for one of the NFC’s top three playoff seeds. But the Saints are also banking on Carr being a better player than he showed with the Raiders. At minimum, they should now be the favorites to win the NFC South, which is a good place to be.
Jeff Duncan: Carr is a definite upgrade at the position and immediately makes the Saints the favorites to win the NFC South. Obviously, we have a long way to go and rosters will change significantly, but Carr gives the Saints the most proven QB in the division. He’s not Drew Brees, but he doesn’t have to be for the Saints to be a playoff contender.
Terrin Waack: I think it’s too soon to say. There’s excitement around the Saints facility right now because of Derek Carr, so it’d be easy to say they’re playoff-bound, but that excitement will fade. There are still a lot of question marks surrounding the offense and its personnel. Also, the other NFC South teams are still figuring out their own quarterback situations.
Rod Walker: Seeing Michael Thomas tweet “Thank you Jesus” when the Saints signed Carr was a sure sign that the players believe in their new quarterback. That doesn’t translate into automatic wins, but there is a sense that the Carr signing is a breath of fresh air for this team. Carr hasn’t missed many games in his career, so that stability alone, which was lacking in recent years, should have them back in the playoffs.
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