The Jets traded for Aaron Rodgers in 2023, but not before investigating all their quarterback options.
With a trade for Rodgers likely but not certain, the Jets considered free agent Derek Carr. Carr said he had an opportunity to sign with the Jets after the Raiders cut him.
He eventually signed with the Saints.
“I could’ve [signed with the Jets],” Carr said on Pardon My Take podcast, via Joey Aliberti of gulflive.com. “It just wasn’t the right time for me. There was still like four or five teams I had to hear from.
“I remember sitting there with [Jets coach Robert Saleh], and he’s like, ‘Look, man, we’d love to have you. It’s up to you.’”
Carr visited the Saints before the Jets in February 2023.
“I remember going [to the Jets facility], and I promised myself I had to go through the process,” Carr said. “Because I didn’t want to sign and then think ‘Well what did that team think? Or what could they do?’ That was hard. Yeah, it was a weird situation, but at the same time, trading for Aaron wasn’t a guarantee for them.”
Carr signed a four-year, $150 million deal with the Saints on March 6, 2023, and the Jets traded for Rodgers on April 24, 2023.
The Jets’ No. 1 option the entire 2023 offseason, beginning with the hiring of Nathaniel Hackett as offensive coordinator on Jan. 26, 2023, was a trade for Rodgers. The only question was whether Rodgers was going to continue his career.
Carr knew the Jets wanted Rodgers more than him.
“The thing which was different in that situation was like Aaron is a nine billion-time MVP, right? But you still have to trade for him, whereas I’m free, and you can still keep those picks,” Carr said. “I was not asking for as much money as whatever they say your market is. I was like, ‘I don’t want to do that, because wherever I go, man, I just want to win. So use the money. I don’t care.’”
Carr also said he had a desire to play for Saleh, who was with the Texans when Derek’s brother, David, played in Houston.
“I am probably like [Saleh’s] biggest fan,” Derek Carr said. “Like I absolutely 10/10 would run through a wall for him even if he’s not my coach. If he was like ‘I need you to do this,’ yes, sir, I would do it. That whole situation, that was the hardest thing. Because my brother knew coach Saleh and he knew I loved New Orleans, but he was like ‘You’re going to see Saleh; you’re probably going to stay.’ He was thinking I was going to sign because of Saleh.”
Carr went to the Saints, and the Jets traded for Rodgers. Now, a year later, both quarterbacks go into 2024 still with a lot to prove with their new teams.