Exit from Raiders 'lit fire' in new Saints QB Derek Carr

NEW ORLEANS, La. — New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr is ready to reinvent himself.

The Saints introduced Carr in a news conference that spanned 45 minutes on Saturday. Carr sat next to Saints coach Dennis Allen, with his family and the Saints front office in attendance. He talked about his nine-year tenure with the Las Vegas Raiders, how the Saints convinced him to join their team and what's next.

What's next could include throwing passes to wide receiver Michael Thomas.

Thomas and the Saints looked like they could be headed for a breakup after they restructured his deal in January. But Carr, who talked to Thomas extensively over the free agency process, spoke as if he expected to be teammates with the 2019 Offensive Player of the Year.

Carr said he and Thomas got close due to their conversations on the phone. He even told Saints general manager Mickey Loomis after one of those conversations that he felt like the pair could «go out there and face the world.»

He added: «When he started recruiting and talking to me, he wasn't even trying to recruit me, he was just like, 'When are we getting to work? We're wasting time, time is ticking.' I was like, 'Dude, I'm the same way. We'll get there.' But I think that our relationship has grown through the process, and I'm looking forward to hopefully making that relationship grow even stronger.»

Carr will also be playing with Saints tight end Juwan Johnson, a restricted free agent who scored seven touchdowns for the Saints in 2022. The team announced on Saturday that they had signed him to a new two-year deal.

But the breakup with the Raiders hasn't been an easy process for Carr.

«It's hard because I love so many people there. At the same time it's a breath of fresh air,» he