With the Philadelphia Eagles winning Super Bowl 59, the entire league has started the 2025 offseason. That means it’s time for big decisions, and the New Orleans Saints have a lot of them to make. The first, of course, will be officially hiring Kellen Moore, who’s coming off a victory with the Eagles.
Once that’s taken care of, the next order of business for the Saints will be at the quarterback position. New Orleans needs to quickly decide if it wants Derek Carr back next season, because there’s a financial deadline speeding up the process. While Carr has two seasons remaining on his deal, $30 million of his 2025 salary will fully guarantee on March 14th, the third day of the new league year.
That means New Orleans must move on from him by then, or the team is committing to another season with him at quarterback. NFL reporter Mike Garafolo broke all this down on a recent episode of The Insiders. Garafolo also reported that Carr would have multiple suitors if the Saints were done with him.
With The Insiders on @NFLGameDay: The #Saints have to hire a head coach and then decide what to do with Derek Carr and his contract. pic.twitter.com/Y3ydI6W57O
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) February 9, 2025
Derek Carr will have multiple suitors if Saints move on from him
As Garafolo pointed out, Carr has a no-trade clause, so that gives New Orleans limited options if it wants to move on. Of course, the team can just release him, but if the Saints want to trade him, they’ll have to work with Carr to find a destination he’s willing to sign off on. Whether it’s via trade or free agency, Carr will have suitors, because teams are always looking for quarterbacks.
In his time with the Saints, Carr hasn’t been bad, but he hasn’t been all that good either, and he’s dealt with multiple injuries. In two seasons, he played in 27 games, completing 68.2% of his passes for 6,023 yards yards, 40 touchdowns, and just 13 interceptions. While the numbers are solid, New Orleans’ record was just 14-13 in those games.
Of the quarterbacks on the roster, he may give the Saints the best chance to win, but the team isn’t good enough with him under center for that to be a factor. Additionally, he isn’t the long-term answer at quarterback, and it’s time for New Orleans to find that.