The Saints have announced the sudden retirement of veteran quarterback Derek Carr due to a shoulder injury.
Reports of Carr’s injury emerged in early April, though its exact nature and impact on the 2025 season were initially unclear. Scans later revealed that Carr suffered a torn labrum with “significant degenerative changes to his rotator cuff,” according to the team’s statement. The 34-year-old quarterback tried an injection and rehab, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, but opted against surgery that would likely sideline him for the 2025 season with no guarantee of a full recovery.
All eyes will now turn to the Saints’ quarterback situation under first-year head coach Kellen Moore. The team was already preparing for the possibility of Carr missing most or all of this season by using a second-round pick on Louisville QB Tyler Shough in last month’s draft. Shough was considered to be one of the most pro-ready passers in this year’s class and will have a chance to start as a rookie in New Orleans. His primary competition will be 2023 fourth-rounder Jake Haener and 2024 fifth-rounder Spencer Rattler, both of whom stepped in for Carr during his absence last season.
[RELATED: Saints Planning Open QB Competition]
Carr’s retirement also comes with a complicated financial compromise. The 2025 compensation in his original contract included a $10MM roster bonus and a base salary of $30MM guaranteed for injury, per OverTheCap. The roster bonus became fully guaranteed for the offseason and triggered this past March, when his salary was also set to upgrade into a full guarantee. The Saints restructured his contract in March instead, converting the roster bonus and salary into a signing bonus to reduce his 2025 cap hit.
Now, that restructure seems to be reversed. Carr will keep the roster bonus, but the Saints will not be responsible for his salary in cash or cap space, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football. The team will also process his retirement after June 1 to spread the remaining dead money across two years. Essentially, Carr is forgoing $30MM that he would otherwise be owed whether he retired or underwent surgery and spent the season on the sidelines.
Carr was just two seasons into a four-year, $150MM contract signed in 2023. He went 9-8 in his debut season in New Orleans, but missed seven games in 2024 and finished with a 5-5 record as a starter. His financial agreement with the Saints will result in $70MM paid out for two years and 27 starts.
The Saints’ announcement also included a statement from Carr:
“Upon reflection of prayer, and in discussion with [his wife] Heather, I’ve decided to retire from the National Football League. For more than 11 years, we have been incredibly blessed, and we are forever grateful and humbled by this experience. It’s difficult to find the right words to express our thanks to all the teammates, coaches, management, ownership, team officials and especially the fans who made this journey so special. Your unwavering support has meant the world to us.”
Carr is retiring after 11 years in the NFL. The first nine years of that stretch were spent with the Raiders, and the former second-rounder will be best remembered for his tenure with them. Carr earned four Pro Bowl nods as a Raider, including three straight from 2015-17. With only one playoff start to his name, though, a lack of postseason appearances and success will be a key aspect of his legacy.
The Fresno State product was reunited with former college teammate Davante Adams in 2022, but that tandem remained in place for only one year. Things did not go according to plan during brief period of the Josh McDaniels-Dave Ziegler regime, and Carr’s release brought about an end to his tenure in Vegas. His previous comments about retiring rather than playing for another franchise were replaced by his Saints pact, one which did not provide the desired results.
In all, Carr made 170 starts during his career, and his passing totals rank just outside the top 20 for quarterbacks in most categories. He amassed over $195MM in earnings over the course of his NFL tenure, one which has come to a rather abrupt end.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Didn’t see this one coming. I knew he was injured but didn’t know it was career-threatening.
I can’t believe he didn’t keep you in the loop
Seriously? FOH.
hahahaha
Boy, that escalated quickly… I mean, that really got out of hand fast.
Shocked as well. I didn’t think his injury was career threatening. I think Carr kind of got a raw deal with the Raiders as just adequate. There’s never been enough elite QBs for every team to have one at all times and he got more flack for being above average as any QB I can remember. The raiders have failed to replace his production since so there you go. Sucks injuries never really gave him a chance to show much with an organization that put some faith in him. Good career good for him
Poor dude. Clearly a horrible injury
Kirk Cousins you are a Saint
I don’t think the saints and falcons are going to trade a qb within the division
I think it depends on how much of Cousins’ 2025 salary a team would pick up along with draft picks back and the Falcons would trade him anywhere to get him off of their roster and cap.
They would have already traded him to do that. They are not anxious to trade him.
He wasn’t going to get traded before the draft as he had control over that decision and didn’t want to go somewhere that drafted a QB high. He could still refuse to waive his no-trad clause for the Saints.
A Post June 1 trade is more favorable to the Falcons relative to dead cap hit.
Or maybe Aaron Rodgers??
Saints roster isn’t ready to contend. It’s a bad team. They’ll go with Shough.
The Saints are in salary cap hell every season, there’s no way they could afford Cousins.
I know just spitballing. Maybe Shough proves himself either way. He’s most likely the guy. Rattler will compete to play too
They would only be on the hook for his salary and post signing bonuses.
2025 – $27.5M
2026 – $20M to Cut, $45M to play without a restructure
2027 – $0 to Cut before March 17, $45M to play without a restructure.
If the team was smart, this would be a reset year, depending on how much cap frees up with Carr’s retirement. A good opportunity to get their house in order, get younger, and bring in a new QB if no one rises to the top this year.
March for Arch!
No. If the Saints are smart, they will stop living in denial and commit to full rebuild.
The 1st round pick indicates that as they are looking to build through the trenches. Cousins is like Carr; just another overpriced stopgap QB to sell tickets
Always good to have a few teams in disarray, as that fosters opportunities that wouldn’t otherwise be there.
!
feel bad for the kid. he looked like a great leader back on the raiders
Not a kid he’s 34 and has had a good career. Better than most … the NFL is the not for long league … and he was able to sustain quite a tenure.
Horrible agent
You have to respect the hell out of Carr to walk away from his guaranteed salary of $30M this year. He could have had surgery, sat out the entire season while rehabbing and collect his full $30M, but he decided he didn’t want to go through that so he took his $10M roster bonus and said “that’s enough” and hung ‘em up. Very rare these days for players to leave guaranteed cash on the table like that.
MLB contracts fully guaranteed. NFL always a shrug for me. But Carr is a different cat regardless….
Wow, did not see this at all. Hello Mr Shough
Next week, Aaron Rodgers signs with the Saints.
He wants a competitive team, though none of the remaining options will get him to the playoffs this year.
Bust out the paper bags for the Aints’.
They look like world beaters compared to the Pelicans…lol.
More fittingly, the New England Patriots or New York Football Giants.
Good to see you again lil bro.
If they’re smart, they’ll commit to full rebuild. They keep prolonging the CAP hits instead of just biting the bullet
Damn wow
I don’t think this has to do with his shoulder at all. Seems his wife recently had a miscarriage. I’d point there first.
Um it absolutely does. He has a degenerative changes in his rotator cuff that even with surgery it still has a possibility of not correcting the issue. Cant be a QB if you can’t throw a football.
Agreed. And obvious. However, he could give himself a shot (and make $30M) even if the result is still retirement. I just think there’s more going on.
@qbert. I think Brees had the same issue with the chargers that’s why they drafted rivers and let him walk. With that being said Brees got better, I did hear that he can’t lift his arm now. That’s probably why carr said screw it.
Wow. A good career that felt like it was off the tracks a little most of the time in one way or another. Raiders dysfunction and flux had a lot to do with that. Always felt a little like the injury in 2016 disrupted a positive trajectory that never quite came back.
That broken leg caused the majority of his decline. He played scared for a few years before he started showing signs of life with Davante Adams again, and we all know how that worked out.
No question they’ll be among the worst in the NFL this fall now barring a QB trade. The Manning family might have a discussion with the crown prince of QB royalty about skipping that last year to play for dad’s old team.. Granted he has to live up to hype at Texas this fall first.
Saints aren’t as beholden to the Manning family as the Giants are.
I’m pretty sure that’s not true. The Mannings are beloved New Orleans royalty.
Just because Archie Manning lives in New Orleans doesn’t mean the Saints should sign his grandson. That would be an excuse for bad business practices.
Football owners often make poor emotional decisions that negatively impact the goals to which they hold their GMs and HCs accountable.
But in any event, by choosing Texas, I think the newest Manning has already shown us he’s not interested in following in the footsteps of his uncles or grandfather. It would be a poor choice for him play for the giants, the colts or the saints. Why give yourself that extra pressure?
Local doctors are scrambling to replace the anticipated lost revenue from concussed Saints WRs
Holy crap. Shough is the guy now
Not sure .. maybe Rattler
They’ll compete in camp. A lot of reports had teams high on Shough just worried about his injury history. Dude was a grown man in college almost 8 years experience lol
Well this Sucks…i always liked him…when healthy….he was one of the better Quarterbacks in the league and had some pretty good playoff teams with the Raiders…but fell shirt because of injury and bad luck…maybe he can comeback to coach someday
He played one playoff game in his career. it was a loss. I wouldn’t have considered him one of the better QBs, better then league average, very consistent though which is a plus for sure.
Probably would have been better on any other team then the raiders
I agree about the playoffs, but I really don’t think he would have thrived further on any other team. It’s not like he took the Saints anywhere, and a lot of the Raiders downfalls were on defense. If someone wasn’t open within 6 yards of scrimmage he would throw the ball away a lot.
Paging Carson Wentz…
Wow! This is a shocker. Really a good dude though and hope he has a successful and happy retirement. There are worse things! Wish I was retired at 35 with a net worth of bout $400M
Best wishes to Carr. So Shough or Rattler who’s the heir?
Saints knew for a while, he didn’t keep it from them.
They kept it a secret together & waited till after the draft to announce it.
Do the saints get any cap relief if he has to retire cause of injury?
The injuries were building and they are a bad team. Things would have gotten worse playing, I am surprised he actually retired.
Man that stinks for the Saints and especially Derick Carr. At least he lasted longer than his brother David the #1 overall pick of the Houston Texans. I can almost guarantee the Saints aren’t going to throw Shough out there to the wolves but it wouldn’t surprise me seeing that the prize next year is a Manning legacy. Arch playing for his hometown team will be a storyline all season.
In the NFC South, good defense and a git ‘er done QB will get you into the playoffs. New Orleans ain’t New York.
As well built of a car as the Yugo & Ford Pinto.
I’m rather skeptical that you kept a Yugo or Pinto operating smoothly for 11 years. Of course if the Saints are willing to get a battery charge before each game they could always try their luck with a Tesla.
FTR, Carr got hit a lot and never once exploded.
He was a great mid-ass QB. Good enough to survive, not good enough enough to truly impact.
I’d say that Carr was better than that, when healthy. Good, not great, but I certainly wouldn’t use his retirement thread to point it out, personally.
Purdy to saints cousins to niners
Who’s your plug?
Asking for a friend
Carr has always been one of my favorite players, so I have to say this is a little sad. He’s had a really good career, though. Hoping the best for him in his retirement.
Sounds like Arch’s coming to New Orleans
Watching too much ESPN?
Man that sucks.
You never want to see somebody have to retire due to injury but glad he at least had a solid, long career.
Derek Carr was meant to be a Raider 4 Life. Sideshows around the Silver and Black got in the way.
Wow! Guess the Saints better find a QB and soon and not push a rookie QB that was over drafted into the starting job….
retired from “sucking at the nfl”
Imagine thinking a guy who regularly threw for 20+ to 30+ touchdowns and 3,000+ yards sucks.
User name checks out…
Trade for Flacco … Shough can learn from him.
Solid NFL career and just a good dude overall. Hopefully he’s able to reconcile and retire as a Raider and enjoy the next phase of life with his beautiful family.
Not to Worry.
He has a standing offer from Hollywood to star in the remake of……..
MY MOTHER THE CARR !!
Teams starting rookie QB’s is insane. GM’s and fans wonder why so many flame out.
Am I the only one who thought (if I were Derek Carr and wore eye liner):
1. My shoulder is jacked
2. The team will pay me $30M to have a surgery
3. It will suck going through rehab for the year and there is a 100% chance of getting cut at the end of the year
4. I’ll likely need surgery on the shoulder someday anyway
I’d be scheduling the surgery (and keep cashing checks).
$1.15MM per start.
Prayers for his loss.
😝
Well at the very least and obviously… The Saints can now look to the future and focus on the next crop of QB’s. I get this strange feeling though that New Orleans will be Russell Wilson’s next team, after he fails in NY. I really hope not though.
Not that surprising. The injury sounded pretty ugly especially for a player his age. He was a quality QB and at least was able to have a better career than his brother who never stood a chance.