This offseason, the New Orleans Saints have a lot of things to address. They must find a head coach, and they also have to decide whether to keep or say goodbye to beloved veterans. Amidst these decisions, there will be a sense of familiarity for the franchise: a bad cap situation.
That's not the most comforting sense of familiarity, but it’s a predicament the Saints find themselves in every offseason. This year, New Orleans is projected to be $66.8 million over the cap. Per usual, they’ll have to pull off a ton of cap space gymnastics to get under the cap.
One thing that won’t be happening is the franchise convincing Derek Carr to take a pay cut. It hasn’t been reported that New Orleans is interested in that, but Carr was asked about that possibility following the conclusion of the regular season.
Speaking with ESPN’s Katherine Terrell, Carr made it clear that he wants to remain in New Orleans, but made it equally clear that he has no plans to take a pay cut, citing his play, as well as the fact that he’s putting his body on the line. The veteran quarterback is, however, open to a contract restructure.
"I wouldn't take a pay cut. Yeah, I wouldn't do that. Especially with what I put on tape. Would I restructure? Absolutely. I'll always help the team that way. But there's some things that you put out there that you earned. Even in some cases it could be even worse, but I felt confident when I signed it that this would give the team the best flexibility at the time. ... But there's always a kind of respect as a quarterback you're like, well still we're in that respectful lane. 'We're good. Build the team.' But yeah, I wouldn't take anything less to do this. It's hard enough putting our bodies through it. And you're trying to get everything you can for your family for it."Derek Carr (via ESPN)
Derek Carr wants to stay in New Orleans and is open to restructuring his contract
Regardless of how fans feel about Carr as a player, he’s absolutely in the right to take this stance. The team agreed to give him the money, so as long as he’s on the roster, he should expect to receive it. It’s not Carr’s, or any player’s, responsibility to get the team out of a mess it created,
Carr is entering the third year of four-year, $150 million contract. In 2025, he’s due $40 million next season, and has a $51.45 million cap hit. There is a potential out in the contract this offseason, but releasing Carr would leave the team with over $50 million in dead cap space, and without a quarterback.
All signs point towards Derek Carr returning for his third season with the Saints. In 2025, New Orleas was 5-5 in the games Carr started and 0-7 in the games he didn’t. The Saints haven’t been a good team with him on the field, but they’ve been really bad with him off the field. Because of that, the franchise will likely be willing to pay him to stick around.