Derek Carr

Derek Carr Addresses Retirement Decision

Derek Carr elected to end his NFL career last month, and the Saints officially processed his retirement on Tuesday. The veteran quarterback’s decision to hang up his cleats came about from his desire not to have shoulder surgery, a topic he recently addressed.

“I wouldn’t have been able to play if I had the surgery,” Carr said during an interview with David Rumsey of Front Office Sports. “And then if I tried to play with it, I wasn’t near 100%, and so that doesn’t help them, either. I just felt like it was the right thing to do for myself and for the team.”

As part of the retirement decision, a financial arrangement was made between Carr and the Saints. The 34-year-old will keep his 2025 roster bonus (valued at $10MM) but he will forego the $30MM in guaranteed salary he was owed for the season. The Saints will move forward with an open competition including Spencer Rattler, Jake Haener and second-round rookie Tyler Shough under center. Carr’s post-2025 New Orleans future had been a talking point prior to his retirement anyway, but team and player have gone their separate ways early.

“That part was tough because I didn’t want to have surgery and just sit there and – it sounds crazy but – just take the Saints’ money,” Carr added. “I had a whole bunch of people tell me how crazy I was, and ‘Man, I would never have done that.’ That’s all cool, but I’ve gained all these things that the world has to offer, and it doesn’t really do anything for your heart. I knew my heart was at peace, and that’s really all that mattered.”

While Carr looked into his non-Saints options this spring prior to retiring, he has expressed contentment with his decision to hang up his cleats. The quarterback market has essentially been settled this offseason, with the Steelers representing the only team where the projected starter is not yet on the roster. Pittsburgh was not mentioned as a potential Carr landing spot, but a QB injury elsewhere could lead to speculation about an NFL return.

Instead, the former Raider confirmed in the interview that he plans to focus his attention on his post-playing days. Carr played a total of 11 seasons in the NFL, and it would come as a surprise if that total were to increase at any time.

Saints Officially Place Derek Carr On Reserve/Retired List

The Saints officially placed Derek Carr on the reserve/retired list, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

The move formalizes Carr’s retirement, which was originally announced on May 10. The Saints were waiting until after June 1 to process the transaction so they could spread the $50.132MM in dead money across two years.

$19.207MM of that will hit the books in 2025, according to Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.Football, cancelling out most of the initial savings from Carr’s departure. The Saints should see a net increase in 2026 cap space despite the remaining $30.925MM in dead money.

Dumping Carr’s contract is a major step forward for the Saints, whose heavy use of void years has severely limited their financial flexibility. They are currently projected to be over the 2026 salary cap, per OverTheCap; Carr’s retirement will ease that burden, though additional moves will be required to become cap-compliant.

Moving on from Carr also makes the Saints’ QB room one of the least expensive in the league. Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler both have multiple years remaining on their rookie deal, and second-round pick Tyler Shough will be on a cost-controlled contract through 2028 once he puts pen to paper. New Orleans also signed undrafted rookie Hunter Dekkers to a three-year, $2.965MM deal with no guaranteed money.

Today’s move will also officially open up a spot on the Saints’ 90-man roster, allowing them to add more depth as the team progresses through OTAs.

Derek Carr Gauged Market Before Retiring

Derek Carr and the Saints found clarity with the recent decision for the veteran quarterback to hang up his cleats. That move came after potential opportunities outside New Orleans were sought out.

Carr’s representatives reached out to at least two teams in the market for a signal-caller this offseason, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Katherine Terrell report. The 34-year-old had not received formal permission to seek a trade, per the report, but the possibility loomed during the spring that a parting of ways could be in store. New Orleans had Carr on the books for 2025 and beyond, and the team did not see informal contact with suitors as an issue.

Conversations with potentially interested teams did not reach a serious point, something which seemed to set the stage for a third Carr campaign as the Saints’ starter. The four-time Pro Bowler declined to accept a pay cut, making his contract a cumbersome one for suitors to take on in a trade. As new head coach Kellen Moore prepared for his first season at the helm, it remained unclear whether or not Carr would be in place. The report notes minimal communication took place between team and player this offseason, one in which Carr did not take part in voluntary workouts despite a new offense being installed.

A left hand injury was noted during the 2024 campaign as Carr missed the end of the year. Nothing was mentioned during or after the season, however, about the issue affecting his throwing shoulder which ultimately ended his playing days. Barring something unforeseen, Carr is not expected to return to the NFL after 11 years in the league. The report notes the shoulder injury was not a topic of conversation during talks with outside teams while adding retirement was still under consideration even before knowledge of the ailment became widespread.

Once the commitment was made on the former Raider’s part to end his career, talks on a financial agreement took place shortly before the draft. Carr wound up retaining his $10MM roster bonus from this year, but he will not receive the $30MM in guaranteed salary he was owed for the campaign. A source close to him noted “integrity” prevented Carr from choosing to collect that money during a season in which he will not play.

In the end, the Saints are now in position to transition at quarterback after planning on one more year with Carr under center. Spencer Rattler, Jake Haener and second-round rookie Tyler Shough will take part in an open training camp competition as the team looks to find a new young core to build around. That effort may well have started next offseason, but the unexpected Carr departure has accelerated it at the QB spot in particular.

Derek Carr ‘Extremely Unlikely’ To Unretire

Delivering great value as a second-round pick, Derek Carr lasted 11 seasons as a starting quarterback. Among second-round picks in NFL history, only Drew Brees and Brett Favre have accumulated more passing yards. Carr’s 257 TD passes also presently edge Andy Dalton‘s 253 for third in that category among QBs chosen in Round 2. While second-rounders in lower-volume passing eras were considered better QBs as well, Carr did quite well from his No. 36 overall draft slot.

Carr did not exactly approach a lower-quality Brees season during his time with the Saints, however; that 2023 signing not panning out as the organization hoped. A compromise upon retirement will help ease the financial burden the Saints will carry as a result of the restructure-generated dead money on the QB’s contract, but the team is now without insurance in the event Tyler Shough does not prove a viable option after being chosen in the second round.

[RELATED: Saints Preparing For Open QB Competition]

The Saints revealed Carr will walk away after suffering significant degenerative changes to his rotator cuff, stemming from a 2023 injury, and fans should not expect the 34-year-old passer to change his mind. Carr is considered “extremely unlikely” to unretire, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. The former Raiders and Saints starter is already making other plans, which are not yet known.

Considering this injury has dogged Carr for over a year, his retirement is not quite an Andrew Luck-level shock. Luck retired just before his age-30 season, doing so after he had claimed Comeback Player of the Year honors. Luck unretirement rumors never produced much of consequence, and the once-promising passer quickly drifted out of the spotlight. Carr dealt with extensive injury trouble in New Orleans, having sustained two concussions in 2023 — in addition to his shoulder malady — before missing time with oblique and hand injuries last season.

Although Carr will pass on $30MM in 2025, he has already earned more than $285MM during his time in Oakland, Las Vegas and New Orleans. If Carr unretired and the Saints did not release him in 2026, that $30MM that was to be due this year would move back into the picture for the team. The QB having encountered the injury volume he has, finding a trade partner — in the event of an unretirement — would be quite difficult for the Saints, especially considering his contract. New Orleans gave Carr a four-year, $150MM deal in 2023. That contract became more difficult to escape thanks to a 2024 restructure. Although the sides’ 2025 restructure will be modified as part of this retirement, the Saints will still have this contract on their books through 2026.

Shough joins holdovers Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener in New Orleans’ QB room, but KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson passes along a fourth option – – Hunter Dekkers — will sign on as well. Dekkers played last season at Iowa Western Community College. Dekkers had previously served as Brock Purdy‘s successor at Iowa State, starting for the Cyclones in 2022. Three years later, he profiles as an offseason/camp arm that will not bring a great chance to unseat Rattler or Haener for a roster spot. The Saints, though, have moved into their post-Carr stage by adding another QB for this purpose.

Saints Announce Derek Carr’s Retirement

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. 

Saints’ Derek Carr Provides Update On Shoulder Injury

Saints quarterback Derek Carr confirmed that he was dealing with a shoulder injury during a guest sermon at Church LV in Las Vegas last weekend, according to ESPN’s Katherine Terrell.

“I have an MRI report to prove it,” said Carr. “The team knows about it, we’ve been in constant communication.” 

He also criticized media speculation about his injury and his absence in New Orleans as the Saints began offseason workouts, revealing that his wife was dealing with a serious health issue that delayed their return to the Big Easy. Carr did not provide any more details regarding the specific nature of his injury or his timeline to return.

Carr’s brother, former NFL quarterback David Carr, offered some more clarity in an appearance on NFL Network. He explained that the injury is believed to have occurred during the Saints’ Week 14 matchup with the Giants last December. Derek Carr also broke his wrist and suffered a concussion in that game, his last of the season. After his wrist healed, he realized his shoulder was still hurt and began to evaluate his options for the future.

Surgery is a possibility, which could threaten Carr’s availability for the 2025 season. He would prefer to focus on rehab with the goal of playing as soon as possible. The 34-year-old quarterback is seeking more opinions and consulting with the team on how best to move forward.

The Saints’ decision to draft Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough last weekend looms larger in the light of Carr’s injury update, especially with the information that the team is fully aware of his shoulder injury. New Orleans believes that Shough was the most pro-ready QB in the draft, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, which may have been an especially strong motivator with the potential for Carr to miss time this year.

General manager Mickey Loomis said that there would be a “competition” when asked about Shough’s role, but indicated that Carr would remain the starter when healthy. If he’s still out to start the year, Shough could take over as starter and make it hard for the Saints to go back to Carr once he’s ready to return. That might be why Carr would prefer to rehab his shoulder and attempt to play as soon as possible; if not, he could find himself out of a job.

Saints Making Calls On Path To QB Pick; Derek Carr Clarity Proving Elusive

Where the wave of second-tier quarterback prospects sends those players will be one of this draft’s top storylines, and teams are doing work on forging reasonable paths to securing QB real estate. This has involved the Browns and Giants discussing trades that involve using their early-second-round picks to climb back into Round 1. The Saints are at work on a similar route as well.

Mentioned a few times as less likely to use the No. 9 overall pick on a quarterback — in a much-maligned draft at the position (outside of Cam Ward) — New Orleans has begun to discuss trades with teams that would involve a move down from that point, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz reports. Additional pick(s) gained from a move down would, Schultz adds, likely be used in a trade package to come back into the first round for a passer.

[RELATED: Jalon Walker, Pass Catchers On Saints’ Round 1 Radar]

This draft’s lack of blue-chip talent, or a second QB deemed worthy of a top-10 pick, has made trading down from the top 10 rather difficult. Offers are not believed to be carrying full value, which would complicate a Saints odyssey down from 9. It depends on how serious New Orleans is about a plan to find a Derek Carr successor without using its first-round pick. The Saints hold No. 40 overall as well; that pick has been viewed as the franchise’s more likely centerpiece of a trade to acquire a long-term option.

The 2025 QB class is not viewed as the greatest talent array to land such a player, the Saints are nevertheless in this position due to Carr’s murky status. The team had hoped to have pre-draft clarity on Carr, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, but no such answers — regarding a surgery that would impact the QB’s availability for 2025 — have emerged.

Seeing as we are nearing May, it is a bit odd this much mystery still clouds Carr’s future. The situation may offer reminders of Michael Thomas‘ unusual 2021, when he delayed a surgery the team viewed as necessary — only to suffer a setback and then miss all of that season. Carr is not certain to undergo surgery, but this issue has surprised some members of the Saints’ staff. His status has naturally hovered over the team entering the draft. Mickey Loomis refused to answer Carr-related questions at his pre-draft presser, but the 12th-year veteran’s availability certainly impacts how the Saints will proceed in the draft. Loomis has avoided trading down in Round 1, but he — as could be expected — did not dismiss the possibility this year.

Carr’s injury is believed to stem from a 2023 AC joint issue that did not heal properly. Carr sustained multiple concussions that year, and he ran into oblique and hand trouble in 2024. The Saints were not believed to have been caught off-guard by Carr’s shoulder trouble, having restructured the vet’s contract — making a 2026 separation more costly. But the team having anticipated more clarity by now is noteworthy, especially as the Saints join other clubs in preparing similar trade-up routes for QBs.

Shedeur Sanders, Jaxson Dart, Tyler Shough and Jalen Milroe have checked in as potential options for this glut of QB-needy teams; all could be gone by Round 2. The Saints have done extensive work on each, as Kellen Moore prepares to take over. Our Ely Allen pegged Dart to go to New Orleans in his mock draft. The Giants are believed to be high on Dart, and the Saints will take a risk if they pass on a QB at 9. Should that happen, the race between this lot of teams eyeing longer-term solutions will be on.

Surgery Not Certainty For QB Derek Carr

9:43pm: ESPN’s Katherine Terrell reports the severity of Carr’s injury is unknown at this time. She adds some members of the Saints’ staff were unaware of the ailment until it was reported, further illustration of the confusion and uncertainty surrounding this situation. Clarity with respect to Carr’s 2025 outlook would certainly be welcomed by all parties.

11:44am: Reports of a shoulder injury to Saints quarterback Derek Carr that may require surgery have put his situation in New Orleans back in the spotlight.

Shoulder surgery could force Carr to miss some, if not all, of the 2025 season, effectively forcing the Saints into a long-avoided rebuild. That could push them to using the No. 9 pick on a quarterback after doing their homework on this year’s class.

However, surgery is not a certainty, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, which could keep Carr on the field this fall and a best-player-available approach on the table for the Saints during next week’s draft.

The reports of Carr’s shoulder injury, combined with his comments rejecting the idea of a pay cut in January, paint an odd picture, especially with a new head coach in Kellen Moore. Carr did not attend the start of the Saints’ voluntary offseason workout program, per Matthew Paras of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, though that’s hardly surprising for a player dealing with an injury.

A recent contract restructure committed the Saints to Carr for 2025 and reduced his cap hit to $20.5MM, an affordable number for a starting quarterback who has performed well in black and gold when healthy. However, the prospect of surgery puts his availability for this season in question, and his contract will become prohibitively expensive next year.

Carr currently has a $69.2MM cap hit for the 2026 season, per OverTheCap. The Saints could reduce that number with another maximum restructure, but that would only increase the $40.5MM in dead money that’s already waiting at the end of Carr’s deal in 2027. An extension is out of the question until there’s some certainty with Carr’s shoulder, and even then, New Orleans is clearly looking for a long-term quarterback in the draft.

It’s hard to know, therefore, if there’s any fire behind this smoke, or if Carr’s injury is just that: an injury.

Saints’ Derek Carr Battling Shoulder Injury, Weighing Surgery

APRIL 14: With plenty of uncertainty looming over this situation, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reports Carr’s camp has informed the team the current issue stems from the fact his 2023 AC joint sprain never healed in full. Especially if that is the case, surgery will no doubt receive strong consideration. As the draft draws nearer, New Orleans’ 2025 outlook under center remains uncertain.

APRIL 11: As the Saints determine if they want to make a significant quarterback investment, they have another issue to deal with regarding their current starter. While coming to New Orleans as one of the NFL’s most durable players, Derek Carr has run into frequent health concerns.

His latest involves a shoulder malady, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. This issue could affect Carr’s regular-season availability, Rapoport adds, as surgery is being considered. Carr missed seven games last season, seeing oblique and hand injuries lead to the low attendance number. The Saints restructured Carr’s contract recently, locking in the 11-year veteran for at least one more season and making a 2026 separation more costly.

Prior to coming to New Orleans, Carr had missed just three games due to injury in nine Oakland/Las Vegas seasons. One of those was a playoff game due to a broken leg suffered in Week 16 of the 2016 season. Carr returned in time for the 2017 campaign. With the Saints, however, the experienced starter continues to see hurdles appear. This latest comes at a rather significant time, as a Saints franchise that has not selected a quarterback in the first round since Archie Manning (1971) considers breaking that streak.

It is unclear how or when Carr sustained this injury. While “what they knew and when they knew it” questions are natural here, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini adds the possibility of shoulder surgery has not surprised the Saints. With the Saints’ massive dead money numbers tied to Carr’s contract stemming from signing bonus proration and void years, an offsite injury affecting guarantees would not matter significantly with regards to an earlier-than-expected separation. But Carr’s offseason outlook certainly looks cloudy in light of this news, with Russini noting there is curiosity around the league about there being more to this story. The 2023 signee remains signed through 2026.

Carr sustained an oblique tear in Week 5 last season; the issue sidelined him for three games. A fracture on his nonthrowing hand, sustained in Week 14, moved Carr out of the picture to close the season. While some uncertainty cropped up between the Saints’ Kellen Moore HC hire and the team’s decision to go through with another restructure, Carr had been penciled in to continue as the team’s starter for a while. As it stands, the Saints are not prepared to be without their first-stringer.

The team has resisted calls for a rebuild, with Carr the main impediment at this point. A surgery that could sideline the starter for part of the 2025 season would stand to impact the team’s thinking in the draft, though a priority of finding a long-term successor will naturally be more important during the late-April event.

The Saints have been closely tied to Quinn Ewers as a potential Day 2 option, while a recent report did not peg them as surefire Shedeur Sanders suitors. As presently constructed, the Saints would not present Sanders or another rookie with a great opportunity to hit the ground running. They are coming off a 5-12 season and did add much of note to their roster on offense. The perennially cap-strapped team is again out of those woods, but the options for adding a short-term stopgap are minimal right now. Ex-Day 3 picks Spencer Rattler, the team’s primary Carr replacement in 2024, and Jake Haener remain rostered.

Joe Flacco joined the Browns today, and the Seahawks completed a QB reunion of their own — with Drew Lock. That takes two clear options off the table, leaving Carson Wentz and a potential Ryan Tannehill unretirement as unexciting solutions. Aaron Rodgers technically remains a free agent, but he has been hesitant on any non-Vikings-based chance to continue his career.

Rodgers showing much interest in the Saints would surprise, and it is still too early to speculate on full-fledged solutions due to the lack of information about Carr’s injury. But this is obviously a concern that will need to be closely monitored. The Saints begin their offseason program Monday.

QB Draft Rumors: Titans, Saints, Manning

As the 2025 NFL Draft continues to draw nearer and nearer, we continue to see momentum towards the Titans selecting Miami quarterback Cam Ward with the No. 1 overall pick. While the team’s president of football operations, Chad Brinker, spoke recently about the time the team has spent evaluating top options like Ward, Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter, or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, he also spoke about a patient, disciplined approach that could entail trading back.

“We are going to go through the whole thing, and I think probably here in two weeks, we’re going to have a good idea of where things are headed,” Brinker told the media, per Titans senior writer/editor Jim Wyatt. “And there’s a chance a team calls, and it makes you stop for a second and think, ‘Hey, we might need to consider this.’ But all of this is a part of being disciplined and being thorough.”

Dianna Russini of The Athletic seemed to imply that there are some in the building who are pushing for the team to trade out of the No. 1 overall spot. Russini, in a recent interview, talked about how those in the building with this view see so many question marks on the roster and so many positions of need. If a team gives them an offer that allows them to cover more ground in repairing what needs to be fixed, they feel as if the team needs to seriously consider that option.

Here are a few other rumors concerning quarterback prospects in the coming draft (and beyond):

  • In an interview on NFL Network yesterday, Ian Rapoport noted the Saints as a team that could go after a quarterback early in the draft. The team recently restructured Derek Carr‘s contract, ensuring that they wouldn’t be forced to draft a quarterback later this month, but Rapoport posits that New Orleans still needs a quarterback of the future. If necessary, the team could take a passer at ninth overall or trade back later into the first round, if they believe the guy they want will still be there. Notably, Jason La Canfora of The Washington Post told us today that officials from two NFL clubs have “suggested the Saints’ brass is…infatuated with Texas’s Quinn Ewers in the second round.”
  • La Canfora also cited a scout who believes that Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe is “almost a lock to go in the second round.” Milroe has been making the rounds in the pre-draft process with several teams who have needs at quarterback. La Canfora’s source cited Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson as examples of guys who didn’t necessarily have elite accuracy or passing ability coming out of the draft but, eventually, added those attributes to their natural athleticism. Milroe is viewed as an elite athlete, and if teams believe they can improve on accuracy and passing traits that, at this moment, don’t seem NFL-ready, there’s no reason he can’t hear his name called on Day 1 or 2.
  • One last thing La Canfora mentioned was that “nearly everyone in the scouting community has opined on the Giants being infatuated with Texas quarterback Arch Manning.” Manning is obviously the nephew of long-time New York franchise passer Eli Manning. The issue with this thought is that they would need to tank in 2025 to be in a position to select Arch, and even then, both Eli and his brother, Peyton Manning, spent four years in college. If Arch follows in his uncles’ footsteps, the Giants would have to tank for two straight seasons in order to have a chance at him. A lot can happen in two years, and given that Manning has only played in 12 collegiate games and made only two starts for the Longhorns, his draft stock could easily change over that time.