The New Orleans Saints will be starting a new quarterback in 2025 and beyond as the team announced Saturday that veteran Derek Carr is retiring after 11 NFL seasons.
Carr has been dealing with a right shoulder injury this offseason — an injury that the Saints described as a labral tear accompanied by significant degenerative changes to his rotator cuff. Carr tried an injection as well as rehabilitation, but they did not resolve the issues. The injury now requires surgery that would knock him out for the entire 2025 season, but he will instead call it a career.
“Upon reflection of prayer, and in discussion with Heather, I’ve decided to retire from the National Football League,” Carr said in a statement. “For more than 11 years, we have been incredibly blessed, and we are forever grateful and humbled by this experience. It’s difficult to find the right words to express our thanks to all the teammates, coaches, management, ownership, team officials and especially the fans who made this journey so special. Your unwavering support has meant the world to us.”
Carr, a second-round pick of the then-Oakland Raiders back in 2014, played nine years with the Raiders organization before spending the last two seasons in New Orleans. For his career, he finished with 41,245 passing yards, 257 touchdowns and 112 interceptions while posting a 77-92 record in 169 career games and starts. He retires as one of just 24 quarterbacks with over 40,000 career passing yards and 250 career passing touchdowns.
In his 10 starts last season, Carr went 5-5 while throwing for 2,145 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions. The five games Carr won were the only victories the Saints had all season, as Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener went a combined 0-7. With rumors swirling around Carr’s injury and status for the upcoming season, the Saints selected Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough No. 40 overall in the latest NFL Draft.
Now, the search for the next long-term answer under center begins. Shough seems the most likely of the players on the current roster to get first crack at the job, especially given the level of team’s investment in him compared with Rattler and Haener, who were also each drafted by a prior regime. But the Saints could also look to the veteran free agent market (Aaron Rodgers or Carson Wentz) or even to trades (Kirk Cousins or one of a number of younger options) to fill the role.
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