Dennis Allen won’t be returning to the New Orleans Saints in 2025, but the quarterback he recruited appears to be here to stay. ESPN’s Adam Schefter shared some insight on what’s in the plans for the black and gold, and it doesn’t sound like Derek Carr will be leaving the team after a couple of rough seasons.
Derek Carr’s contract and this spring’s planned restructure, combined with the Saints’ tight salary cap situation, mean there may not be much appetite in letting him go.
“Because this team is so strapped against the cap, Derek Carr is in line to be back next year. They don’t have a lot of flexibility, he makes the most sense, and it certainly looks like he could be back next season even though he is inactive tonight,” Schefter said.
Carr missed Monday night’s game with the Green Bay Packers after fracturing a bone in his non-throwing hand diving for a first down a few weeks back, and it’s unlikely he’ll be able to suit up again in 2024. But it isn’t expected to linger into 2025, and based off what he’s heard Schefter expects Carr to remain under center in New Orleans.
That wouldn’t be a popular move for a Saints fanbase that has pretty publicly expressed frustration with Carr’s play; he made some strides with Klint Kubiak replacing Pete Carmichael at offensive coordinator, averaging the second-best touchdown rate and passer rating of his career. But he’s clocked just 214.5 passing yards per game, the second-lowest pace of his career. They haven’t won many games because of him.
And Schefter has a point about the cap implications of offloading Carr’s contract. Odds are he won’t agree to waive his no-trade clause, and cutting him would double the dead money the Saints already have on the books for 2025 — and that $48.4 million figure for Marshon Lattimore, Michael Thomas, and Jameis Winston already leads the league. It would be incredibly difficult to make competitive offers in free agency with $100 million tied up in money for players not on the team.
So Carr will likely be back in 2025. So will Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener. But who would a new head coach be starting? Carr would be a highly-paid backup, and agreeing to start him because of that may be a stipulation for a new coach. That could turn off some attractive coaching candidates, but crazier things have happened in the NFL. Stay tuned to see how this all unfolds.
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