The Saints’ on-brand restructure of Derek Carr‘s contract last year leaves them with a harder out on the middling quarterback’s contract. Even after the Broncos took on $83MM-plus in dead money to drop Russell Wilson, a Saints-Carr split would bring a noticeable dead cap hit for a team that wages cap-compliance odysseys annually.
It would cost New Orleans $50.1MM in total to drop Carr. While the team could halve that (roughly) with a post-June 1 designation this year, it would still leave Kellen Moore‘s team in need at the game’s marquee position. While the Saints’ new HC stopped short of confirming Carr would lead his first New Orleans offense, Mickey Loomis leaned more in that direction at the Combine.
The 24th-year Saints GM said (via ESPN.com’s Katherine Terrell) Carr is “a guy we can win with,” as the veteran exec indicated the team will prepare for a third season with Carr at the helm. He remains tied to the four-year, $150MM deal authorized in 2023. The Saints would have had an easier time removing this contract from their payroll had the 2024 restructure not taken place, but the team needed to complete its usual quest to create cap space.
Retaining Carr may not be the most exciting news to Saints fans, but their cap situation — even as skilled as Loomis has proven in escaping trouble and stalling a true rebuild — would worsen considerably with a Carr separation. The Saints are still projected to be nearly $50MM over the 2025 cap. They have until 3pm CT on March 12 to move out of the red.
Moore also offered more support for Carr on Wednesday, indicating the Saints “feel fortunate to have Derek here, the experience he has. He’s a big-time quarterback in this league.” Loomis had said his next HC hire would shape the team’s QB direction; it appears, for now, this remains a Carr-centric roster. Moore’s team will assuredly be looking for a Carr heir apparent either this year or next, as this will be the age-34 season of a quarterback who has resided in the league’s middle class at the position for most of his career.
Last year, however, Carr did carry his highest QBR since 2020; the ex-Raider finished his abbreviated season with a 63.4 QBR. That would have been good for 13th in the league, though Carr did not have enough snaps to qualify. That showing also came after the Saints played without starting wideouts Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed for most of the season. Carr missed seven games as well, marking by far his lowest attendance in an NFL season. He had never previously missed more than two regular-season games.
Carr said earlier this year he would not accept a pay cut from the Saints. He is due a $10MM roster bonus in March, when his $30MM base salary will become guaranteed. That is a sizable commitment for the Saints, but they do not have great options to move on. Beyond the above-referenced financial ramifications, New Orleans needs a future QB answer in what is viewed as a down draft at the position. Using Carr as a bridge while Loomis and Moore plan ahead makes sense, even if the Saints continue to punt on a rebuild.