Saints quarterback Derek Carr will retire

Derek Carr will retire, which means both the end of his two-year tenure with New Orleans and some significant salary-cap relief for the Saints.

Carr tried all his options to get back on the field and ultimately decided against having surgery.

“Upon reflection of prayer, and in discussion with Heather, I’ve decided to retire from the National Football League," Carr said in a statement. "For more than 11 years, we have been incredibly blessed, and we are forever grateful and humbled by this experience. It’s difficult to find the right words to express our thanks to all the teammates, coaches, management, ownership, team officials and especially the fans who made this journey so special. Your unwavering support has meant the world to us.”

According to the Saints' statement, medical scans determined objectively that Carr sustained a labral tear and also had significant degenerative changes to his rotator cuff.

Although it’s an abrupt and obviously disappointing end for the 34-year-old Carr after an 11-year career, this was arguably the best possible outcome for New Orleans once news broke that a shoulder injury might prevent Carr from playing this season. Now the Saints will only owe Carr $10 million from his fully-guaranteed roster bonus, but they will not owe him his $30M salary that was previously guaranteed for injury only.

The Saints will still need to account for a total of $50.132 million in dead money from Carr’s previous bonuses. But that figure would have been $80.132M in dead money if they were required to pay his full salary.

That cap hit will be spread over both 2025 and 2026 since both sides agreed to wait until after June 1 to file the official paperwork -- a sign that the two sides have been working together and that the split was amicable.

Carr, who signed a four-year contract with the Saints in 2023 that was worth up to $150 million, wound up playing for just two years and $70 million -- the grand total of both his cash payments and cap costs. The reason the Saints still need to account for $50.132M in dead money is because Carr's cap costs in 2023 and 2024 were only $7.2M and $12.668M.

Meanwhile, this news also officially means the Saints will go young at the QB position with either rookie second-round draft pick Tyler Shough or second-year pro Spencer Rattler, which was already shaping up to be the most fascinating element of New Orleans’ offseason.

The Saints had initially planned to stick with Carr as their starting quarterback as recently as March, when both the front office and new coach Kellen Moore were intent on keeping him for at least one more season with plans of trying to contend for the NFC South title this year instead of a rebuilding mode.

However, it was Carr who initially wanted a divorce when he was hoping the Saints would either grant him a release or seek a trade back in March – even before anyone discovered that Carr was dealing with a shoulder injury. Carr’s side was disappointed when the Saints decided to restructure his contract in March instead, even though that meant they were scheduled to guarantee his full $40M salary.

It was weeks later when the NFL Network first reported that Carr was dealing with a shoulder injury that might require surgery. Carr later confirmed the shoulder issue, with his brother David explaining that Carr first learned of the injury when he resumed throwing for the first time this offseason.

Carr, who has only spoken publicly once about these issues while speaking at a Las Vegas church last week, said he had been in constant communication with the Saints. However, Carr was not attending any of the first two phases of the Saints’ offseason workout program.

Carr actually finished his tenure in New Orleans with a winning record (14-13) and a passer rating of 98.8. He was 9-6 over his last 15 starts, including a promising 4-1 finish to his debut season in 2023 and a spectacular 2-0 start to the 2024 season.

However, both he and the Saints team were overwhelmed by injuries as the 2024 season derailed – including an oblique injury that sidelined him from Weeks 6-8 and a broken wrist that ended his season in Week 14.

Carr finished his two years in New Orleans with 40 touchdown passes, 13 interceptions, 6,023 passing yards and a 68.2% completion percentage.

Carr spent his first nine years with the Raiders after being drafted in the second round out of Fresno State in 2014 -- and immediately becoming their starter as a rookie. He finished his career with a 77-92 record as a starter, 41,245 passing yards, 257 touchdowns, 112 interceptions, a completion percentage of 65.1 and a passer rating of 92.8. He led the Raiders to the playoffs but was injured for one of those two appearances. So he appeared in only one playoff game in his career.