{"id":8984,"date":"2025-06-05T16:35:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T16:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/umyonews.site\/index.php\/2025\/06\/05\/derek-carr-on-retiring-i-didnt-want-to-just-take-the-saints-money\/"},"modified":"2025-06-05T16:35:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T16:35:12","slug":"derek-carr-on-retiring-i-didnt-want-to-just-take-the-saints-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/umyonews.site\/index.php\/2025\/06\/05\/derek-carr-on-retiring-i-didnt-want-to-just-take-the-saints-money\/","title":{"rendered":"Derek Carr on retiring: I didn’t want to ‘just take the Saints money’"},"content":{"rendered":"


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New Orleans Saints<\/a> quarterback Derek Carr<\/a> shocked the NFL<\/a> world last month when he announced his retirement due to an ongoing shoulder injury that would require surgery and likely sideline him for the entire 2025 season.<\/p>\n

But why did Carr decide to retire, rather than get healthy while under contract for the Saints?<\/p>\n

“That part was tough [leaving money on the table] because I didn\u2019t want to have surgery and just sit there, and it sounds crazy, but just take the Saints money,” Carr said in an interview<\/a> with Front Office Sports.<\/p>\n

Carr, 34, was entering the third season of a four-year, $150 million contract. His 2024 campaign was hindered by an oblique injury, which sidelined Carr for three games, and later a season-ending hand injury.<\/p>\n

Across the 10 games that Carr appeared in, he totaled 2,145 passing yards, 15 passing touchdowns, five interceptions and a 101.0 passer rating, while completing 67.7% of his passes. He ranked seventh among quarterbacks in passing grade (86.7) and 11th in overall grade (85.6), according to Pro Football Focus.<\/p>\n

“I wouldn\u2019t have been able to play if I had the surgery,” Carr said. “And then if I tried to play with it, I wasn\u2019t near 100%, and so that doesn\u2019t help them, either. I just felt like it was the right thing to do for myself and for the team.”<\/p>\n

When Carr retired, the Saints stated that the quarterback had a “labral tear<\/a>” and “significant degenerative changes to his rotator cuff.”<\/p>\n

Carr, a four-time Pro Bowler, spent the first nine seasons of his NFL career with the Raiders<\/a> (2014-22), with whom he’s first in franchise history with both 35,222 passing yards and 217 passing touchdowns.<\/p>\n

In his first season with the Saints (2023), Carr totaled 3,878 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, eight interceptions and a 97.7 passer rating, while completing 68.4% of his passes. New Orleans went 9-8 and missed the playoffs.<\/p>\n

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Derek Carr missed seven games in 2024. (Photo by Elsa\/Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n

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“I never played just for the money,” Carr said. “I had a whole bunch of people tell me how crazy I was, and \u2018Man, I would never have done that.\u2019 That\u2019s all cool, but I\u2019ve gained all these things that the world has to offer, and it doesn\u2019t really do anything for your heart. I knew my heart was at peace, and that\u2019s really all that mattered.”<\/p>\n

As for the Saints, they selected Louisville<\/a> quarterback Tyler Shough<\/a> with the No. 40 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and have 2024 fifth-rounder Spencer Rattler<\/a>, who made six starts as a rookie, and Jake Haener<\/a> in their quarterback room.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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