March 18, 2026, 5:31 p.m. CT
A former New Orleans Saints starting quarterback is on the move, but it isn’t Derek Carr (or Jameis Winston). On Tuesday the Philadelphia Eagles traded a 2027 seventh-round draft pick to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for Andy Dalton, who started 14 games for the Saints back in 2022. Does that give us an idea of what trade compensation the Saints could get for Carr? Maybe. Dalton is a couple of years older than Carr (38 versus 35) but the two quarterbacks are tied for the most starts without a playoff win during the Super Bowl era (169). But at this time no teams have reached out to the Saints about a trade for Carr, so don’t get your hopes up.
So what does this mean for Dalton? Instead of competing with Kenny Pickett for the Panthers’ backup job behind Bryce Young, he’ll be waiting in the wings in Philly. The Eagles have an established starter in Jalen Hurts and a trade candidate of their own in Tanner McKee. If McKee gets moved in the weeks leading up to the 2026 NFL Draft, Dalton would be a logical fit to back up Hurts full-time.
More and more quarterback vacancies are getting filled around the league by the week. Once the draft comes and goes, there may not be a spot waiting for Carr. Don’t be shocked if he has to wait until the November trade deadline to see if a team loses their starter to an injury, as happened last year with Daniel Jones (Indianapolis Colts) and Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals).
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