The New Orleans Saints are in the worst cap space situation among all the teams in the entire NFL. New Orleans is about $60 million over the cap as things currently stand.
One move the Saints could make to look to save quite a bit of money is trading or cutting quarterback Derek Carr. Now, Carr is much better than any other signal caller on the roster, but the money saved could be worth it to New Orleans.
Who would the Saints turn to at quarterback to replace the veteran?
Nick Igbokwe of Sportskeeda recently listed former New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers as the top candidate to replace Carr if the Saints opt to cut ties with him. The Jets recently cut Rodgers, seemingly in an attempt to turn the page to a new era in the Big Apple.
"Aaron Rodgers is a four-time MVP and one of the most (if not the most) accurate QBs in the game's history," Igbokwe wrote. "Rodgers is fresh off two disappointing seasons with the New York Jets and he'll be a free agent ahead of the 2025 regular season.
"A change of scenery and coaching from a Super Bowl-winning offensive guru might be what Rodgers needs to get back to his best. His addition would be a marquee one for the Saints, even if he's at the tail end of his first-ballot Hall of Fame career."
Rodgers would be a dream come true for the Saints. He's not expected to have a very aggressive market as most teams aren't eyeing a 41-year-old veteran to be their franchise guy. With a less than aggressive market, he'll likely be fairly affordable.
Rodgers is a better option at quarterback and he might be cheaper than Carr. If the future Hall of Famer wants to come to New Orleans, it should be a no-brainer for the Saints.
Saints $150 Million Star Identified As Potential Surprise Cut Candidate
The New Orleans Saints have to take a serious look at the roster this offseason and get the cap under control.
New Orleans won just five games in 2024 and needs to find a way to bounce back in 2025. Adding Kellen Moore as the team's head coach is exciting, but the team is in a tough position cap-wise. New Orleans is last in the league with over -$54 million in cap space.
At this point in the offseason, you've probably heard about the Saints' cap issues. They are prominent and are going to play a big role in how the offseason plays out. The Saints are going to have to make some tough decisions and because of this, NFL.com's Matt Okada floated Derek Carr as a cut candidate.
"Derek Carr, who has ranked 14th on average in passer rating over the past five seasons, is probably a middle-of-the-pack starting quarterback -- but his $51.5 million cap hit in 2025 is the fourth-highest at the position," Okada said. "The complications stem from the variety of options the Saints have with the 33-year-old QB. Cutting him straight-up would leave the team with $50.1 million in dead money and save just $1.3 million against the cap -- doesn't seem viable.
"Designating him as a post-June 1 cut nets $30 million in savings, with "only" $21.5 million in dead money, which is more manageable -- then again, each team can only give that designation to two players per year, and, like Carr, the Saints carrying the next highest cap charges (Cameron Jordan and Taysom Hill) would have to be designated post-June 1 cuts to generate meaningful savings in 2025. Trading Carr before June 1 would snag the team $11.3 million in cap savings and potentially a slight return in draft picks, if the Saints can find a suitor."
Carr signed a four-year, $150 million deal with the Saints but will have a cap hit over $51 million unless something is changed in the deal or he is let go. He's a very good quarterback and it would be nice to keep him, but the cap issues surely will play some sort of role here.
