Jeremy Fowler and Katherine Terrell of ESPN posted a thoroughly reported breakdown on Friday of how the situation between the Saints and QB Derek Carr unfolded and ultimately resulted in the veteran quarterback retiring from the NFL.
According to three league sources cited by ESPN, Carr’s representatives reached out to at least two quarterback-needy teams before free agency to explore potential interest. A source tells ESPN that the contact was “indirect,” but both teams were reportedly made aware that Carr might be open to leaving the Saints, even though he did not have permission to engage with other teams at the time.
Even so, the Saints were apparently fine with it, as the team reportedly felt as though Carr had earned the right to consider his future after 11 seasons in the league.
While trade discussions for Carr did take place, sources familiar with the talks told ESPN that conversations never progressed to a serious level.
Carr’s relationship with the Saints reportedly deteriorated after the team decided to move on from several coaches that he had grown close to, including OC Klint Kubiak and QB coach Andrew Janocko and HC Dennis Allen.
During the offseason, there was buzz about the Saints approaching Carr regarding a restructured deal that likely included a pay cut. However, Carr maintained that he was not going to accept any pay cut to be back with the Saints.
New Saints HC Kellen Moore declined to comment on whether Carr had been asked to take a pay cut.
Carr finished the year with a hand injury but the right shoulder issue was never listed on the injury reports, nor did it come up during Carr’s end-of-season physical, a team source tells ESPN.
In fact, a Saints coaching source told ESPN he first learned of the shoulder injury on April 11 from the original NFL Network report about Carr possibly missing the season.
Multiple team sources did tell ESPN that they learned of Carr’s issue in late March when Carr first reported pain following offseason throwing. From there, the Saints reportedly ordered scans and initially hoped for a manageable recovery.
“When he said pain, we’re not thinking retirement,” the source told ESPN.
However, multiple sources who spoke with ESPN said Carr may have been contemplating retirement well before learning the full extent of his injury.
While trade possibilities were at least considered, a source from a team in the QB market told ESPN that Carr’s $30 million guaranteed salary and $10 million roster bonus “didn’t help” his trade value.
The Saints had already been doing extensive work on quarterback prospects in this year’s draft including Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart and Louisville QB Tyler Shough, so while losing their starting quarterback was not ideal, they had a plan for the team addressing the quarterback position for this year and beyond.
One Saints team source told ESPN that they had considered rebuilding two years ago but GM Mickey Loomis wanted to make one more run at winning, which is why veterans like Cameron Jordan, Tyrann Mathieu, and Demario Davis will play out the season on incentive-based deals that void next year.
In the end, the Saints and Carr agreed to allow him to keep his 2023 $28.5 million signing bonus and $10 million roster bonus, while the Saints received $30 million in cap relief and avoided a future $69 million cap charge.
A source close to Carr told ESPN that the quarterback didn’t want to take money against the team’s cap if he wasn’t going to play: “Integrity matters to him.”
Since the news of Carr’s retirement surfaced, there have been rumblings that Carr could return in 2026 after his shoulder is completely healed.
Per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, a return to the NFL in 2026 for Carr is “extremely unlikely” as he’s already making other career plans post-football. Florio acknowledges things could change the longer Carr is away from football, but an unretirement doesn’t look realistic as of now.
Carr, 34, is a former second-round pick of the Raiders back in 2014. He was in the final year of his contract when the Raiders signed him to a five-year, $125 million extension that included $70 million guaranteed in 2017.
Carr stood to make a base salary of $19.77 million in the final year of his contract and was set to be an unrestricted free agent in 2023 when he signed a three-year, $121.5 million extension.
However, the Raiders released Carr the following season, and he signed a four-year, $150 million deal with the Saints.
He was due a base salary of $40 million and $50 million in total in the final year of his contract in 2026.
In 2024, Carr appeared in ten games for the Saints and completed 68.1 percent of his passes for 1,926 yards, 14 touchdowns, and four interceptions.
For his career, Carr appeared in 169 total games for the Raiders and Saints for a career record of 77-92. He completed 65.1 percent of his passes for 41,245 yards to go along with 257 touchdowns and 112 interceptions.
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