Derek Carr, Saints inch toward a possible $30 million showdown

Two years ago, the Raiders benched quarterback Derek Carr before he could suffer an injury that would trigger $40 million in guarantees for the next year.

The Saints might end up wishing they’d done the same thing.

Carr’s current deal pays out $40 million in 2025. Of that amount, $10 million is fully guaranteed. Another $30 million is guaranteed for injury. It becomes fully guaranteed in March.

If Carr can’t pass a physical by the date on which the injury guarantee becomes fully guaranteed, the Saints can’t avoid the $30 million.

Given that he’s currently injured — and in light of recently conflicting messages on whether he will or won’t be cleared by the end of the season — it’s time to start wondering whether a fight will unfold in fewer than three months as to whether he’s cleared.

It could come down to a grievance, with the Saints saying he’s fine and Carr saying he’s not. And $30 million would be riding on it.

The question becomes whether one or both sides want to play hardball. The Saints in theory could decide to keep Carr and pay him the $40 million; however, the next coach might want someone else at the game’s most important position.

The point for now is this. Between the left hand injury (it’s fractured in two places) and the concussion, the Saints need both conditions to resolve by the date in March on which the injury guarantee becomes a full guarantee. If it doesn’t, they’ll be stuck with another $30 million in cash obligations to Carr in 2025.

In the end, it could be that the Saints say the injuries are healed and Carr says they aren’t and an arbitrator will figure it all out, with $30 million hanging in the balance.