This week on the off-season

• Derek Carr to New Orleans
• Lamar Jackson and others franchise tagged
• Derrick Henry to be put on the trade market
• Giants spend big to keep their stars in town

Derek Carr to New Orleans

The offseason has just kicked off and we already have our first big quarterback move.

Former Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr hits the road and heads to New Orleans to join a young Saints offense full of talent like Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, and Taysom Hill.

Carr played 142 games in Vegas going 63-79. He threw 217 touchdowns to 99 interceptions leading the Raiders to the playoffs in 2021.

Carr clearly has talent, but coming off a rough 2022 campaign, maybe a change of scenery is just what Carr needs.

Franchise Tag Madness

The NFL Franchise tag is a tool that teams have where they can bind a player scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent to a 1-year contract with their team. Each team gets one franchise tag per season.

The complete list of franchise tagged players thus far includes:

• Saquan Barkley (New York Giants)
• Evan Engram (Jacksonville Jaguars)
• Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens)
• Josh Jacobs (Las Vegas Raiders)
• Daron Payne (Washington Commanders)
• Tony Pollard (Dallas Cowboys)

The highlight of the list is Lamar Jackson in Baltimore. Baltimore has done little to supply help for their 2019 MVP winner. Jackson has expressed much frustration with the organization and was rumored to be leaving the franchise this off-season.

However, this tag doesn’t necessarily mean Jackson is stuck in Baltimore one more year.

The Ravens have used a non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson meaning he will be allowed to negotiate with other teams. If Jackson is offered a contract from another team, the Ravens can match their deal or opt to receive 2 first round draft picks as compensation.

Even if Jackson isn’t signed by another team, it is likely that the Ravens look to trade their star QB. Jackson could be a top target for QB needy teams looking to propel themselves to the next level.

Derrick Henry on the Move

Derrick Henry has been one of the most dominant running backs over the course of his career, carrying an otherwise struggling Titans offense to the playoffs 4 times in his 7 seasons.

Henry has had four 1,000-yard seasons and one 2,000-yard season; however, Henry is 29 years old and has been prone to injury as of late.

Despite this, expect to see a massive overpay for Henry. Teams desperate for a running back could possibly be willing to pay a 1st round pick or even more for the veteran back.

Giants Retain Their Stars

Just a few weeks ago it seemed impossible for the New York Giants to have retained both Daniel Jones and Saquan Barkley going into the next season. With Barkley seemingly wanting to move on from the team, and Jones asking for north of $40 million per year, the possibility of losing both players was looming. However, despite all of this, the Giants offense will be looking much the same going into 2023.

The Giants gave in and spent big to retain Jones giving him a 4-year $160 million contract (the same as Dak Prescott and Matthew Stafford). There will be a lot of eyes on Jones this next year.  He was solid in 2022 providing the offense excellent protection of the football with minimal turnovers, but he struggles to push the ball downfield.

They also used their franchise tag on Barkley, effectively giving him a 1-year contract worth just over $10 million. Barkley has proved himself as a franchise running back and is still quite young with some more years in him before he starts to decline.

Whether he re-signs with the Giants again next year is unknown, but at least for the following season he will provide some much-needed star power to a weak Giants offense.