In a shocking announcement, New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr has officially announced his retirement from the NFL after 11 seasons, a decision that caught Black & Gold fans and the football world off guard—though many Saints fans might feel more relieved than stunned. The news broke Saturday morning through a report from NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill, with the Saints confirming shortly after in an official statement.
According to the team, Carr’s decision came following a reevaluation of a shoulder injury that turned out to be far worse than initially understood. Carr had returned to light throwing activity in March when team doctors identified a lateral tear and “significant degenerative changes to his rotator cuff.” The damage would have required surgery, sidelining him for the entire 2025 season with “no guarantee” he would return to his prior level of performance.
There had been growing speculation about Carr’s health status during the offseason, especially as the Saints lacked clarity heading into the NFL Draft. The team ultimately selected Louisville QB Tyler Shough in the second round, joining a depth chart that includes Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener.
The Saints, who restructured Carr’s contract earlier this offseason, are expected to recoup a substantial portion of the money tied to the agreement. Carr shared a heartfelt message in the team's statement: “Upon reflection of prayer, and in discussion with Heather, I've decided to retire from the National Football League. For more than 11 years, we have been incredibly blessed, and we are forever grateful and humbled by this experience.” He concluded by thanking teammates, coaches, and fans: “Your unwavering support has meant the world to us.”
While Carr's departure marks the end of a significant era, some Saints fans, who had grown increasingly frustrated with his inconsistency and lack of "connection" to the city, are likely seeing this as a potential turning point for the franchise. This is a developing story. Check back for updates and reaction from around the league.
In a surprise decision announced on Saturday, New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr is retiring from the NFL after 11 seasons. Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Saints won't have to pay Carr's $30 million guaranteed salary for the upcoming season and the club won't seek reimbursement for his $10 million roster and signing bonus that was paid in March.
The Saints entered the day with $23.1 million in cap space, but that figure will increase to around $53 million with Carr's retirement. Carr's decision to retire will honestly be a friendly one monetarily for all involved. Carr made a $10 million bonus by being on the roster through his March roster bonus - which he will be allowed to keep. His $30 million cash he was due for this year, however, will revert back to the Saints.
What will further help the cap is that the sides have mutually agreed to file his retirement after the June 1 deadline. This deadline is important because, had his retirement been official before that, his cap hit would all count towards 2025. Because it will be filed after, his ~$20M cap hit can be spread over 2025 and 2026.
As for what the Saints will do at quarterback in 2025 without Carr, Shough would seem like the favorite to be the Week 1 starter. The Louisville alum was selected with the No. 40 overall pick in this year's draft. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler said on SportsCenter in the aftermath of Carr's retirement that Saints officials are "really high" on Shough and "hope" he can take control of the starting job during OTAs, training camp and preseason.
Rattler and Haener both started games for the Saints last season, going a combined 0-7. Rattler was responsible for six of those starts. He threw for 1,317 yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions in seven total appearances. Haener's lone start was in Week 15 against the Washington Commanders. He was benched for Rattler at halftime after going 4-of-10 for 49 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.
New Orleans has three other quarterbacks on the roster: Tyler Shough, Spencer Rattler, and Jake Haener. Shough was the Saints' second round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft at No. 40 overall out of Louisville. He is the only quarterback in the group to be drafted under new head coach Kellen Moore. Rattler was a fifth-round pick in 2024 and started six games, going 0-6. He completed 57 percent of his passes with four TDs and five INTs. Haener was a fourth-round pick in 2023 and made his NFL debut in 2024, starting one game, a loss.
With Carr gone, the top of the Saints depth chart is wide open. He actually missed time last year with this injury as well and we saw both of the backups play. What we are most likely to see, however, is their second-round rookie pick from the recent 2025 NFL Draft get a chance. They selected quarterback Tyler Shough who, as we mentioned in the intro, took the long road to the NFL with three years at Oregon, three years at Texas Tech, and one year at Louisville.
Typically, we’d say the surprise retirement of a team’s starting quarterback is a nightmare for fantasy football. It certainly was for Andrew Luck. And the fantasy assets on teams like the Giants and Steelers certainly suffered when Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger retired. But the injury was clearly affecting Carr for most of 2024 as he only had one game where he threw for over 250 yards. In 2023, he threw for over 300 yards on six different occasions.
This QB change really brings uncertainty to the table more than anything. The floor with young quarterbacks is always the same - that they will be terrible. But the ceiling for a young playcaller at this stage is higher than Carr with a bum shoulder. Shough is also 26 years old with a lot of experience in big games so it’s not like they’d be throwing a 21-year-old into the fire here. Granted, those games were played in college. The big cause for concern for guys like Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Alvin Kamara, Juwan Johnson, etc. is that they don’t have that veteran to fall back on as of now.
If Anthony Richardson isn’t getting the job done with the Indianapolis Colts, for instance, they can lean on Daniel Jones. Fellow rookie Jaxson Dart is in a room with Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston. If Shough isn’t getting it done, it could be a long and lost season for the Saints with guys like Rattler and Haener rotating in.
As the Saints begin the first offseason activities under new coach Kellen Moore, the team's top quarterback for the last two seasons, Derek Carr, is retiring from the NFL. A right shoulder injury played a major role in the decision for the four-time Pro Bowl quarterback. In a statement on the team's website, the Saints explained that Carr experienced pain in his right shoulder in late March. Medical scans showed he'd had a labral tear and degenerative changes to his rotator cuff.
The Saints are having to rethink their strategy, both short- and long-term, especially at the all-important quarterback position. Instead of having a clear veteran QB1 when healthy, they now have three young quarterbacks—Tyler Shough, Spencer Rattler, and Jake Haener—with just seven starts between them (plus a tight end in Taysom Hill who has served as a starting quarterback over the years with suboptimal results). So, who will start? Moore's answer was obvious at this stage in the offseason: The three youngsters will compete for the role. This shouldn't be a huge shock to hear. Even before the draft, there was a hint that Carr might miss all of 2025 with the shoulder injury that has now prompted his retirement.
