All signs point toward the New Orleans Saints moving on from Derek Carr this offseason. But if they go that route, how will they go about finding a new top quarterback?
In a piece published Wednesday, ESPN's Seth Walder predicted Justin Fields to be New Orleans' starting quarterback in 2025. Fields is scheduled to hit free agency this offseason after enduring an inconsistent 2024 campaign with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"Carr is owed a fully guaranteed $10 million roster bonus and a non-guaranteed $30 million salary," Walder wrote. "The former is a sunk cost for the Saints, but the latter can and absolutely should be saved. Holding Carr's $30 million salary on the cap until June 1, which is what the Saints will have to do even if they designate him as a post-June 1 release, will be a challenge. I've seen some potential paths proposed: They might be able to get there via salary restructures thanks to a higher-than-expected 2025 cap, or they could ask Carr to reduce his 2025 salary, knowing he will be cut anyway (this might cost something, though).
"Assuming it can avoid paying that $30 million to Carr, New Orleans ought to embrace a full rebuild -- which means playing players with future upside. Fields and a rookie could make sense in that context. There's still a possibility Fields can kick his level of play up a notch and if not, a midround rookie can get some run. My only hesitation is that even Fields might be too expensive for the Saints given how rough their salary cap situation is."
Fields, a first-round pick in 2021, was traded from the Chicago Bears to the Steelers last offseason. He started the first six games of the campaign before being replaced by Russell Wilson, who led Pittsburgh to the playoffs and also is set to hit free agency.
Overall, Fields completed 65.8% of his passes for 1,106 yards and five touchdowns along with one interception. He also rushed for 289 yards and five touchdowns.
New Orleans also could use the No. 9 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to target a new quarterback, but most mock drafts predict the top two QB prospects to be off the board by the time the Saints are on the clock.
