Step aside, Derek Carr (plus Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler). This 2025 NFL mock draft has the New Orleans Saints spending a first-round pick on a new quarterback: Miami Hurricanes senior transfer Cameron Ward, formerly of the Washington State Cougars. That’s the choice Draft Wire’s Curt Popejoy made for the Saints, who slotted in at No. 11 using the latest projected standings.
Ward’s name has been connected to the Saints for a few years now. He was linked to New Orleans in a midseason mock draft back in 2022, though he ultimately stayed in school. Wazzu went 5-7 last year, and Ward transferred to Miami in January in hopes of winning a championship. He was effective in both years with the Cougs while making some solid improvements to his game. But the hope is that a stronger supporting cast on the Hurricanes can help Ward reach even greater heights in his senior year.
It wouldn’t be too surprising to see the Saints draft a quarterback in this spot next year. If they’re picking tenth overall, they probably lost enough games in 2024 for general manager Mickey Loomis to finally pull the plug on his Dennis Allen experiment. With Allen going out the door goes Carr’s biggest advocate. Haener and Rattler may have some talent but neither of them is going to keep the Saints’ next coach from drafting a starting quarterback in the first round.
So what becomes of Carr? His 2025 salary cap hit has grown to $51,458,000 including a $30 million base salary and $10 million roster bonus. If Allen is still the coach in 2025 the Saints are likely to restructure Carr’s contract by converting most of his salary and that roster bonus into a new signing bonus; that’s the same move they pulled this year, and it would save them more than $30.9 million while keeping Carr in place as the team’s starter. Carr has a no-trade clause written into his contract, so that’s off the table, but an outright release would nearly break even.
Just looking at the numbers, it suggests Carr will still be starting under center in 2025, and we shouldn’t expect the Saints to draft his replacement (especially if Allen remains their coach). If they end up with the eleventh pick without moving on from Allen or Carr, another position may make more sense than quarterback. But if the Saints have a head coach they claim to believe in and a quarterback he’s determined to start, and they’re still bad enough to be picking at No. 11, then what are we doing here? Maybe drafting Ward to prep him for a reboot with their next coach is the move after all.
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