The New York Jets are big-game hunting for the quarterback position.
It should come as no surprise to anyone then that a top veteran on the open market is making his first visit to Florham Park.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported Friday afternoon that former Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr will visit the Jets over the weekend. Carr, after being released by the Raiders, is a free agent and does not need to wait for the beginning of the 2023 offseasons to begin to sign a deal with a new team.
Carr is the Raiders’ all-time franchise leader in most passing statistics including yards, touchdowns, and passer rating. While Carr was still under contract a few weeks ago, both the Jets and Saints had reached out to the Raiders on a potential trade: the Saints having hosted the former Fresno State quarterback a week earlier.
The Jets consider Carr to be one of their bigger targets at the quarterback position, with others such as Aaron Rodgers, Jimmy G, and Ryan Tannehill also on their list of potential upgrades at quarterback.
New York lost its last six games while the combined quarterbacks of Mike White, Zach Wilson, and Joe Flacco totaled just 15 touchdown passes in 17 games. The Jets did not record an offensive touchdown in each of their last three games of the regular season and finished 7-10.
Carr does have familiarity with some of the coaching staff on the Jets. Newly-hired passing game coordinator Todd Downing was Carr’s old offensive coordinator in Oakland. The addition of Nathaniel Hackett as the team’s current offensive coordinator leaves the Jets with an offense that Carr has also run before.
No contract has been decided and there is no indication that Carr is set to make a decision soon. This is however, the first move that Gang Green has made this offseason that backs their belief that they will be bringing in a talented, veteran quarterback to help end their 12-year playoff drought.
