Quarterback Derek Carr may have played his last snap with the New Orleans Saints, as one prominent reporter believes the team will release him if they cannot find a trade partner. A second-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, Carr spent nine years with the Raiders before joining the Saints before the 2023 season. At the time, General Manager Mickey Loomis believed Carr could elevate the roster and bring the team back to the playoffs for the first time since Drew Brees called it a career.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, as New Orleans missed the postseason in each of the past two seasons. While Carr wasn’t the biggest issue with either iteration of the Saints, he wasn’t good enough to justify his four-year, $150 million contract. The quarterback previously said he won’t take a pay cut, and the Saints are currently $47.1 million over the 2025 salary cap. NFL.com’s Matt Okada believes the Saints will release Derek Carr if they can’t find a trade partner, but acknowledges there could be some difficulties with that decision.
” Designating [Carr] as a post-June 1st 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 player 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.
NFL Network: Saints Could Release Derek Carr If No Trade Partner Emerges
The Saints have kicked the can down the road with an endless series of contract restructures and don’t have an easy way to dig themselves out of their current financial predicament. On paper, the Saints could release Derek Carr and save some cap space, but that would mean keeping either Cameron Jordan or Taysom Hill. Carr isn’t playing up to his contract, but he’s a much better player than Jordan and Hill. Perhaps the Saints will restructure Carr’s deal again or just accept a massive cap hit, but they’ll probably try to trade him.
Okada’s article adds New Orleans could save $11.3 million in cap space if they can trade Derek Carr. The veteran quarterback isn’t an elite player by any stretch of the imagination, but he is a reliable starter who could be an upgrade for a few franchises. Last year, Carr finished 14th in EPA/play and seventh in PFF grade despite playing in a subpar environment. Seeing as it’s a weak quarterback draft class, the following teams could send a late-round pick for his services.
Possible Destinations
The Pittsburgh Steelers need a quarterback in the worst way. Russell Wilson and Justin Fields are free agents, and neither quarterback was good enough to turn this team into a legitimate contender in 2024. Steelers fans won’t be thrilled with the idea of going after another veteran, but given the team’s late draft capital and the weak quarterback class, Carr is probably the best option available. Even if he’s not good enough to win a Super Bowl, he should help the team get their first playoff win since 2016.
The New York Giants find themselves in a similar quarterback purgatory. The Daniel Jones Era is officially over, but Brian Daboll’s squad lacks an adequate Plan B. Perhaps Miami’s Cam Ward falls to the third-overall pick, but even if the Giants can get him, Daboll might not want to risk his job on an untested rookie. Derek Carr might not be the second coming of Tom Brady, but he should perform reasonably well with Malik Nabers if the Saints release or trade him.
