Soon, the New Orleans Saints will have to decide if they want to go into a third year with veteran quarterback Derek Carr. Carr has two expensive years left on his contract, but between injuries and mediocre results in his first two years, he hasn’t been the quarterback the Saints hoped they were getting.
Now, New Orleans must decide if it’s time to move on, and what’s the best way to do it. Carr has a no-trade clause, and releasing the veteran quarterback would give the team a massive cap hit. However, if the Saints are ready to move on, they have to accept that reality.
If that happens, the next major decision for New Orleans will be finding a new quarterback. The Saints could give the keys to one of the younger quarterbacks on the roster (Spencer Rattler or Jake Haener), or they could acquire an entirely new QB. ESPN is predicting the latter, projecting a brand new starting quarterback for the Saints.
Seth Walder recently predicted the 2025 starting quarterback for all 32 teams, and of course, most teams didn’t see change. New Orleans was one of the few teams that did make a change, with Walder predicting that Justin Fields will be the starter for the Saints next season.
Justin Fields is predicted to land with the Saints
Walder argues that New Orleans should move on from Derek Carr and fully commit to a rebuild. That means leaning on younger players with potential, and watching them develop. That’s why Justin Fields makes sense as the next QB for the team.
"New Orleans ought to embrace a full rebuild -- which means playing players with future upside. Fields and a rookie could make sense in that context. There's still a possibility Fields can kick his level of play up a notch and if not, a midround rookie can get some run. My only hesitation is that even Fields might be too expensive for the Saints given how rough their salary cap situation is."Seth Walder (ESPN)
Walder acknowledged that even Fields could be a challenge to land finically, but if the Saints could somehow figure it out, he’d definitely be an intriguing option. At the start of next season, he’ll only be 26 years old, and he would bring something different to New Orleans’ quarterback position with his dual-threat ability.
Fields is coming off a year with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he started six games, picking up a 4-2 record. He appeared in 10 total games, completing 65.8% of his passes for 1,106 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception. He also rushed for 289 yards and five additional touchdowns.
He may not be the elite long-term option New Orleans hopes to land, but he’ll definitely bring a skillet to the Saints that new offensive-minded head coach Kellen Moore can work with.