Derek Carr's ideal next team revealed: Between Jets, Panthers, Saints, who does the QB prefer?

After nine years quarterbacking the Las Vegas Raiders, Derek Carr has been forced to move on. Now a free agent, the four-time Pro Bowl QB can now sign with any team he chooses. Yet, we know it won’t be the Raiders. Based on several other established starters, we can also rule out roughly a third of the NFL, who won’t even look into the cost of adding Carr.

Yet, we also have three strong links of the soon-to-be 32-year-old tied to other QB-needy NFL teams. Being that Carr has met with the Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, and New Orleans Saints, he likely has pictured himself playing for each of those teams in 2023.

But like you and me, Carr is human. Do you think he’s established a hierarchy for which team he’d prefer to play with, more so than the others? Of course he has. That’s what free agency is all about, placing yourself in the best position to succeed.

Carr would be an immediate starter in each situation, and while the Panthers and Jets may also have a developmental option on hand with Matt Corral and Zach Wilson, the expectation is that Carr would face zero competition for the starting role.

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Carr’s preference is to land with the Jets, but it’s reportedly only a “slight lean” toward the Big Apple at this point. Yet, the Jets have also been flirting with the idea of trying to trade for 4x NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, which could be the hold-up in Carr contract discussions.

Chances are, Carr will want to have his next team finalized before NFL officially opens up on March 15. By getting ahead of the process now, Carr can almost have his pick of the litter before other players like Jimmy Garoppolo, Geno Smith, and Daniel Jones potentially become available.