Complicated Derek Carr situation may have taken new turn

Shoulder surgery could force Carr to miss some, if not all, of the 2025 season, effectively forcing the Saints into a long-avoided rebuild. That could push them to using the No. 9 pick on a quarterback after doing their homework on this year’s class.

However, surgery is not a certainty, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, which could keep Carr on the field this fall and a best-player-available approach on the table for the Saints during next week’s draft.

The reports of Carr’s shoulder injury, combined with his comments rejecting the idea of a pay cut in January, paint an odd picture, especially with a new head coach in Kellen Moore. Carr did not attend the start of the Saints’ voluntary offseason workout program, per Matthew Paras of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, though that’s hardly surprising for a player dealing with an injury.

A recent contract restructure committed the Saints to Carr for 2025 and reduced his cap hit to $20.5M, an affordable number for a starting quarterback who has performed well in black and gold when healthy. However, the prospect of surgery puts his availability for this season in question, and his contract will become prohibitively expensive next year.

Carr currently has a $69.2M cap hit for the 2026 season, per OverTheCap. The Saints could reduce that number with another maximum restructure, but that would only increase the $40.5M in dead money that’s already waiting at the end of Carr’s deal in 2027. An extension is out of the question until there’s some certainty with Carr’s shoulder, and even then, New Orleans is looking for a long-term quarterback in the draft.

It’s hard to know, therefore, if there’s any fire behind this smoke, or if Carr’s injury is just that: an injury.