Raiders inform Derek Carr he’ll be released

Derek Carr and the Raiders are breaking up on Valentine’s Day.

If Carr was on the Raiders roster at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, $40.4 million of his remaining compensation would have become fully guaranteed. The Raiders have avoided that by releasing him.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Raiders have informed Carr of that decision. That will free up over $29 million in cap space for the Raiders and puts Carr on the open market a month ahead of the start of the new league year.

Carr visited the Saints last week as the Raiders tried to find a way to trade Carr before the deadline, but there wasn’t any reason for Carr to agree to be traded rather than become a free agent. He’ll now be free to sign with any team immediately.

The Saints could be a possible landing spot and the Panthers, Jets, and Buccaneers are other teams that could be in the market for a veteran this offseason.