Before the New York Jets traded for future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers, it sounds like they nearly signed a different veteran quarterback instead: Derek Carr.
During a recent interview on the Pardon My Take podcast, Derek Carr revealed that he “could’ve” signed with the New York Jets if he wanted to, but he didn’t feel like it was the right fit.
“I could’ve [signed with the Jets],” Carr said on Pardon My Take podcast according to Joey Aliberti of gulflive.com. “It just wasn’t the right time for me. There was still like four or five teams I had to hear from.
“I remember sitting there with [Jets coach Robert Saleh], and he’s like, ‘Look, man, we’d love to have you. It’s up to you.’”
Carr understood that the team would prefer to sign Rodgers over him.
“The thing which was different in that situation was like Aaron is a nine billion-time MVP, right? But you still have to trade for him, whereas I’m free, and you can still keep those picks,” Carr said. “I was not asking for as much money as whatever they say your market is. I was like, ‘I don’t want to do that, because wherever I go, man, I just want to win. So use the money. I don’t care.’”
Needless to say, these are some pretty enlightening comments from Carr, and they led to a lot of reactions on social media.
embarrassing for the Saints tbh, he just implicitly told you he regrets signing there and would do it over if given the chance. https://t.co/zuLTySVrZJ
— Dan De$p (@_dandesp) July 17, 2024
Obviously I’m glad we got Aaron
However, it’s still nice to know that the Jets had more than a few options https://t.co/kU4ZknPi9M
— SSN – NY Jets (@SSN_Jets) July 18, 2024
If the Jets would’ve picked Carr over Rodgers who knows what I would’ve done https://t.co/ITnTSWkXhM
— Alex🇵🇷 (@alex_7592_) July 18, 2024
Joe Douglas was going to go all in on carr – he gets worse by the day https://t.co/kkcoSd8zy6
— Shaun (@ShaunWasRight) July 17, 2024
“I was cheaper” yea your play showed it last season https://t.co/R7brzZ8qgj
— STIGS (@jstigs14) July 18, 2024
We dodged a bullet man what drug was joe Douglas and Saleh on if woody didn’t step in we would’ve been stuck with carr for 4 years https://t.co/JRec6qYUWr
— JP (@Therealjay__y) July 17, 2024
Obviously, the Jets signed Rodgers instead.
