Report: Saints plan to keep QB Derek Carr around for 2025
This seemed to be the direction things were going, but NewOrleans.Football's Nick Underhill reports that it "sounds like the Saints plan to keep Derek Carr at QB" after speaking with general manager Mickey Loomis and head coach Kellen Moore at the NFL Scouting Combine this week.
Between the Saints already leading the league in dead money for players not on their roster in 2025, which would double if Carr were released, and the lack of a competitive option behind him, the team views keeping him for the next season as their best solution. Loomis told Underhill that Carr is a quarterback they can win with, despite his 15-14 record through two years in New Orleans. Moore said he has spoken with Carr and expressed that the Saints are "fortunate" to have him, adding that discussions "went well."
Underhill did mention that there are contractual factors left to resolve, but we can take a guess at that. Carr has already indicated he won't accept a pay cut for 2025. Since cutting or trading him is off the table (and he could block a move with his no-trade clause), that leaves a restructure as the likeliest option. We've outlined before how the Saints could restructure Carr's contract this season and get out of it after 2025, if they need to. But you'd hope he plays well enough in Moore's offense to where keeping him beyond that is good for all involved.
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