Unless the New Orleans Saints somehow make a deep playoff run, the 2025 NFL Season should be the last year that Derek Carr is their starting QB. The Saints made a huge mistake signing Derek Carr in the first place, but he will now return for his third season in New Orleans.
The original decision to sign with the Saints seemed to be driven by Carr's desire to once again play for Dennis Allen, who was fired back in 2024. Now with Kellen Moore at the helm, the hope here is that the Saints are going to look a lot different and simply be in a better position for the long-term.
Well, one way they can do that is to cut Derek Carr following 2025, and here are three reasons why.
3 reasons why this has to be Derek Carr's last year with the Saints
Reason No. 1: He's not that good
Isn't this obvious? Derek Carr is a perfectly average quarterback. He's perhaps the 18th or 19th-best starting QB in the NFL and someone who I put into something I like to call the 'irrelevant middle.'
They are QBs you can sometimes win with, win because of, and lose because of. They aren't legitimate franchise QBs for some reason and aren't going to help a franchise reach their goal. Carr would be a perfect short-term option for a dysfunctional franchise with a plan to bring in a young QB. The New Orleans Saints have to look themselves in the mirror and some point and acknowledge that Carr simply isn't the one to lead them where they want to go.
This has to be his last year because he isn't all that, period.
Reason No. 2: Cap savings
According to Over The Cap, a post-June 1st cut in the 2026 NFL Offseason would save the Saints $50 million against the cap and force them to eat just over $19 million in dead money. I mean, come on. The cap savings would be insane, and it would honestly fix their financials in a big way as well. d
Carr would be entering his age-35 season in the NFL in 2026, so the age could slowly begin to be a concern as well. But with Carr, the amount of money he is taking up and the potential cap savings do not match up with his skill level. If Carr was 25 years old and entering the prime of his career, we'd not be talking about any sort of release. However, it would be too hard for the Saints to pass up on these cap savings next offseason.
Reason No. 3: The signing was a mistake from the beginning
Derek Carr should have never been signed to begin with, as the New Orleans Saints truly should have blown things up following the 2022 NFL Season. But it does seem like GM Mickey Loomis is quite stubborn and simply wants to keep this thing moving for as long as possible.
Just think how much different of a position the Saints could be in had then blown it up, endured a lean year, and grabbed a QB in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft? Had they taken this route, we could be talking about this team breaking out in 2025.
Well, they can't take back the past, but they can simply cut Carr next offseason and acknowledge that the signing was a mistake.
