The NFL Scouting Combine is an opportunity for teams to take a look at and evaluate the stars of tomorrow. Because every NFL team descends onto Indianapolis and is essentially under one proverbial roof, it's also an opportune time to wheel and deal regarding players already in the league.
That appears to be the plan for free-agent quarterback Derek Carr, who is set to arrive in Indianapolis on Tuesday. When Carr does touch down, NFL Media reports that he is set to have in-person meetings with three teams: the New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, and Carolina Panthers.
Carolina is the newest team to enter the Carr sweepstakes as the veteran quarterback has already logged visits with both the Saints and Jets. That said, new head coach Frank Reich did leave the door open to the Panthers meeting with Carr at some point earlier this offseason. That is now seemingly coming to fruition.
Reich noted during his introductory press conference that finding a quarterback is the franchise's top priority after the Sam Darnold-Baker Mayfield carousel over the last two seasons produced less than satisfactory results. Carolina does own the No. 9 overall pick at the NFL Draft, so there is an avenue to finding a signal-caller there, but signing Carr would open the franchise up to utilize that pick to address other needs across the roster.
Meanwhile, the Saints showed immediate interest in Carr this offseason and even spoke with the quarterback while he was still under contract with the Las Vegas Raiders as they had briefly considered trading for him. Carr reportedly had a multi-day visit with New Orleans and, while no trade came to be, it still seems like they are in the running for his services now that he's on the open market. As for the Jets, they've been the most recent team to meet with Carr and made a lofty pitch that included the possibility of him becoming a first-ballot Hall of Famer if he signs and wins in New York.
It is worth pointing out, however, that all of these teams will need to work some salary cap gymnastics if/when one of them does sign Carr. Currently, each of these teams is over the cap. The Saints are most egregiously over the cap by just under $30 million, the Panthers are $4.1 million over, and the Jets are a mere $1.1 million over.
