Derek Carr speaks on his decision to join the Saints

NEW ORLEANS, La. (WLOX) - On Saturday, the New Orleans Saints held an introductory press conference for new quarterback Derek Carr.

From the moment Carr entered the podium, it was evident that he was comfortable and happy with his decision. After being targeted by the Saints in a trade, the Raiders released their quarterback, allowing him to test free agency.

The former Fresno State quarterback eventually chose New Orleans and continuously expressed his appreciation and excitement to be a member of the Black and Gold.

“The warmth and the love that I’ve felt from the city of New Orleans, Mrs. Benson, Mickey (Loomis), DA (Dennis Allen), the whole organization, the whole city has been unbelievable,” Carr said.

“I tried to keep myself even keeled during the whole thing even though my wife already knew that we were coming here. She could have saved me a lot of time if she just would have told me that. I was trying to find the perfect place for our family, and she could’ve helped us with that.”

Throughout the process, Carr never ruled out coming to the Saints via trade, but he did elect to go to free agency. During his brief time as a free agent, the Saints quarterback spoke to NFL legends who know the city quite well.

“I thank Drew Brees for reaching out to me and answering a lot of my questions. I thank Peyton Manning and Archie Manning for reaching out to me and answering questions and being there for me while I made my decision. I’m really excited to get started.”

With the signing of Carr, the Saints now have the best quarterback situation in the NFC South. Both Atlanta and Tampa Bay have young inexperienced guys set to take over under center and Carolina will have a decision to make after trading for the number one overall selection in the 2023 NFL draft on Friday.

As for the relationship that head coach Dennis Allen has with his new quarterback, you could say they are picking up right where they left off.

“I was fortunate enough to be with the Raiders when we drafted him (Carr) in the second round. I have always admired the type of person that he is as well as the type of player that he is. It’s been outstanding to watch him grow both as an individual and as a player.”

Allen also joked about Carr electing free agency rather than accepting a trade to New Orleans right off the bat.

“I do want to make sure that everybody knows Derek is a much quicker decision-maker on the field than he is off the field, obviously this process took way too long, but we’re obviously happy that we have him.”

Want more WLOX news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

Copyright 2023 WLOX. All rights reserved.