Tag: Derek Carr

Spencer Rattler starting in 2025 could be Kellen Moore’s best option

Kellen Moore reportedly doesn’t like the Saints’ quarterback situation. If he does take the job, Moore can take a few routes at quarterback

Kellen Moore reportedly doesn’t like the New Orleans Saints quarterback room, but there is still a chance he will take the head coach job. Moore has lucked up with the quarterbacks he has worked with in the NFL. He’s operated with Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts.

Stepping into a room with Derek Carr, Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener can feel less than enticing. Ben DiNucci was re-signed from the practice squad and has experience in Moore’s offense from their Dallas Cowboys days, but he could be swapped out for someone else in that reserve role. If Moore takes the job, who are the other options?

Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders highlight the quarterbacks in this year’s NFL draft. The Saints won’t be able to grab them, but Jaxson Dart could be available. Opinions are split on whether he’ll be a top-10 possibility, a second-day pick in Rounds 2 or 3, or even drafted at all.

Grabbing him in the top-10 would be a reach. In a thin quarterback class, but quarterback-needy climate, Dart could rise into the tail end of the first round with a strong pre-draft circuit. If not, he’s worth consideration if Moore likes him.

Another alternative is to let Rattler start in 2025. It gives the second-year pro a chance to play with a true supporting cast, which he never had the benefit of in his rookie season.

If Rattler performs well, maybe the Saints have their quarterback. If he doesn’t, there’s a good chance the Saints are picking in the first 10 picks again. That would position you well in what is supposed to be a much better quarterback class.

The expectations are already low for the next head coach’s first season. Taking a risk on a quarterback is acceptable. Carr starting next year elevates your floor. You would have a better chance of picking around the 15th selection. Choosing to start Rattler is a boom or bust scenario, but either outcome could be beneficial.

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B/R defines the Saints by their bleak offseason outlook, but how bad is it?

B/R’s Brad Gagnon summed up every team in just one sentence. He focused on the obstacles the Saints’ next coach must face:

Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon summed up every team’s future in just one sentence. The summary for the New Orleans Saints was a bleak outlook of what the next head coach is stepping into.

In cap hell yet again and with the roster aging and declining, the Saints desperately need to finally give in and commit to a full rebuild.

When breaking it down, these are the immediate reasons the job has been looked at poorly. They’re also the obstacles the next head coach will have to deal with. Whether it’s Kellen Moore, Mike McCarthy, Anthony Weaver, Darren Rizzi or Mike Kafka, all of them will have to find a solution for the cap and deal with aging players in at least Year 1. Right now, signs point to Moore taking the job after Super Bowl LIX.

It will also be the coach’s decision on how far the team dives into the rebuild. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a close example of a soft rebuild. They continued to win the NFC South while bringing in a lot of young talent and paying off dead money from old contracts.

Tampa Bay struck success with their quarterback acquisition, but the Saints will likely part ways with Derek Carr in the near future, though an immediate release doesn’t seem realistic. His departure could be the official turning point into a rebuild. That would likely coincide with a massive youth moment and exodus of veteran talent.

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ESPN designs odd scenario to get Derek Carr off of the Saints

ESPN came up with a bizarre scenario which has the Saints moving on from Derek Carr, sending him to the AFC North instead

The New Orleans Saints 2025 offseason is no doubt going to be an intriguing one, with cap management, head coaching searches, and whatever free agents they are able to bring in and retain. However, with that in mind, there is also a line to draw between likely and unrealistic. ESPN writer Ben Solak recently put out an article discussing the quarterback market in this offseason. One of the pieces discussed is Derek Carr, and how things could shape up if Sam Darnold returns to the Minnesota Vikings.

In his scenario where Darnold does return, Solak believes the Pittsburgh Steelers could pivot and make a push for Carr via trade:

“While the most likely outcome is that Darnold gets a big deal from someone else in free agency, I remain far less confident than public perception that he gets out of Minnesota. And if he stays, things could get wonky, fast. In Darnold’s absence, I could see the trade market getting hot for a player like Carr, the next-best option for two to three years of acceptable play. The Steelers and coach Mike Tomlin need that plug-and-play fix at quarterback to finally find some postseason wins before seats start to get too hot. Could they work with the Saints to get New Orleans some cap relief in return for Carr’s services? I think it’s doable.”

This is one of the more peculiar suggestions on how to get Carr off the Saints this offseason, but then again when you think about it, the Steelers do need a plug and play starter as Solak mentions. And they do also have a substantial amount of cap space (approximately $40.4 million) where they could eat a large majority of his contract. This would give the Saints the ability to either draft a new quarterback (via trade up, potentially) under whoever their new head coach ends up being, or find a free agent they believe could be serviceable and build around them.

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Report: Saints QB situation may turn off top head coach candidate

The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reports that NFL ‘scuttlebutt’ suggests the uncertainty of the Saints QB situation may turn off their top remaining head coach candidate:

The New Orleans Saints hiring Kellen Moore to become their new head coach is far from a done deal. The Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator cannot formally accept the job or sign a contract until after Super Bowl LIX, meaning the Saints would have to wait until Feb. 10 to cross the finish line — just like they did last year with offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.

So things could go sideways. Moore could choose to stay on a Super Bowl contender rather than try his luck with the Saints. It’s obvious by now that the Saints aren’t an appealing destination around the league (just look at Aaron Glenn, Joe Brady, and Kliff Kingsbury all choosing to go in other directions). And one aspect that may turn off prospective coaches is the Saints’ outlook at quarterback.

The Athletic’s Dianna Russini shared what she’s heard about the situation.

“There was a little scuttlebutt,” Russini said on her Scoop City podcast, “about whether or not Kellen would want this job. And it’s due to the fact they don’t have a quarterback there already in place, that was concerning. With that being said I think he’s come around on it from what I was hearing, ‘Maybe this is the right spot for me.'”

Derek Carr is only one game over .500 as the Saints’ starter, and behind him they have one uninspiring backup in Jake Haener and a winless rookie in Spencer Rattler. Carr is also owed more than $51 million this year due to last season’s restructure and there isn’t a realistic path out of his contract in 2025. This will take time to fix. Russini says that’s partly why Moore and the Saints could actually be a good fit.

“They do (have Carr under contract). But there’s also an understanding throughout the league that the New Orleans Saints need another year to rebuild this thing. They’re in cap hell. And they’re comfortable understanding that. They know their limitations. They’re not expecting Kellen Moore to come in here, let’s just say and get the job, and turn this whole thing around. They know they need someone who’s patient with them,” Russini finished.

The Saints were conservative in free agency last year while working to clear their salary cap books, and that’s likely to be the approach again in 2025. With so many teams craving instant success around the NFL — that shortsighted approach is why Mickey Loomis put the Saints in cap hell, by the way — it’s kind of refreshing to see a path for Moore to take his time and get his own players and coaches in the building. But that path isn’t for everyone, and it’s likely why Russini picked up those rumors of discontent surrounding the Saints head coach search.

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Russell Wilson should treat 2025 Pro Bowl like Derek Carr did in 2023

Russell Wilson has a chance to turn the 2025 Pro Bowl Games into his own audition, much like Derek Carr did before landing with the Saints.

Scheduled to hit free agency this offseason, the 2025 Pro Bowl Games could be the last time Russell Wilson has the luxury of donning the iconic Black and Gold of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

While nothing is confirmed regarding the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2025 quarterback plan, ‘Mr. Unlimited’ likely sees the writing on the wall—and he should use that to his advantage in the 2025 Pro Bowl Games.

Back in the 2023 Pro Bowl Games, former Raiders QB Derek Carr was in a similar position to Wilson and seized the opportunity to highlight that he still had far more left in the tank—dominating the Precision Passing challenge with an event-winning score of 31 points.

Following the performance, Carr infamously took a shot at the Raiders when former Steelers safety Ryan Clark asked if he had ever looked that hot in Las Vegas:

“Not that hot. That’s probably why I’m going somewhere else.”

Carr would ultimately get another starting opportunity with the New Orleans Saints in 2024, and Wilson would be wise to take this approach heading into the 2025 Pro Bowl Games.

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Top Saints HC candidate beat Derek Carr by 50 points in college as QB

One of the top New Orleans Saints head coach candidates actually faced Derek Carr as a QB in college and came out on top by 50 points:

Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has become a hot pick for the next head coach of the New Orleans Saints and it turns out that he has some interesting history with the team’s franchise quarterback.

Saints fan @FreakyPeezy on social media pulled out a gem of a box score that shows a Moore-led Boise State Broncos team defeating Derek Carr’s Fresno State Bulldogs in a 57-7 blowout back in 2011.

Moore, 36, was a legendary Mountain West quarterback not that long ago. While he didn’t stick under center in the NFL, he was a great college passer. He had a great day against the Bulldogs, going 23-for-41 with 254 yards and three touchdowns. It was during his senior year.

This was during Carr’s redshirt sophomore season and he was clearly still going through growing pains. It didn’t help that the Broncos were an undefeated top-five team while Fresno State was sub-.500. He did not has as nice of a statistic day, completing just 17-of-30 passes for 126 yards and an interception. All things considered, many would say that it was actually the worst game of his college career.

It doesn’t sound like the Saints are about to reset their salary cap spending

It doesn’t sound like the Saints are about to reset their salary cap spending. They may feel Mike McCarthy can get more out of their roster than Dennis Allen did:

Given the New Orleans Saints’ lack of success in recruiting head coach candidates, a lot of fingers have been pointed at what makes their job opening so undesirable. Maybe Aaron Glenn and Joe Brady didn’t want to come here because of the state of the roster, or the salary cap situation, or having a mediocre quarterback locked in for the foreseeable future — or maybe it’s because Mickey Loomis isn’t seen as a good boss. Maybe it’s a combination of those variables.

Not many of those variables can be changed. But the biggest (or at least the loudest, and most persistent) criticism of how the Saints do business might fall on their salary cap management. The team has a lot of resources tied up in contracts with older players and they already lead the league in dead money left over from expired contracts with guys like Marshon Lattimore, Michael Thomas, and Jameis Winston. And that’s before Ryan Ramczyk’s retirement has been processed with more dead money hits coming for free agents like Chase Young and Juwan Johnson.

So there’s a compelling argument to be made that the Saints should blow it all up. Trade whoever they can. Cut whoever they can. Take their medicine this year and try to compete in 2026 or 2027, whenever the roster has turned over and they can afford to sign new talent.

But that doesn’t sound like the path they’re taking based on this report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. He characterized their interest in former Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy as a way for the Saints to compete right away.

“Mike McCarthy, I’m told, is expected to interview with the Saints probably around the middle of this week,” Pelissero said Sunday morning, pointing to McCarthy’s history as an offensive coordinator with New Orleans from 2000 to 2004. Pelissero added, “He’s also got a lot of success in his past, 12 playoff appearances in 18 seasons, potentially a really good fit for a Saints team that is very much built to win right now.”

That sure doesn’t sound like a team preparing to cut a lot of veterans and reset the salary cap accounting books. If the Saints don’t see a viable way out of their cap crunch without restructuring Derek Carr’s contract or moving on from defensive cornerstones like Cameron Jordan, Tyrann Mathieu and Demario Davis, maybe bringing in McCarthy and continuing to kick the can down the road until those guys simply age out is the best path forward. Maybe it isn’t.

Maybe McCarthy’s two 6- and 7-win seasons with the Cowboys are a stronger indicator of what the Saints should expect than the three 12-win years sandwiched in-between. We’ll just have to see how Loomis and Co. get out of this mess they’ve made for themselves.

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Rumor: Browns to look into these veteran QBs this offseason

Keep an eye on the veteran trade market this offseason as the Browns search for a new quarterback

As the Cleveland Browns begin their search for at least two quarterbacks this offseason, they could potentially look to trade for Geno Smith or Derek Carr.

While Kirk Cousins of the Atlanta Falcons is a popular name to link to the Browns because of his relationship with head coach Kevin Stefanski, Dawgs by Nature’s Jared Mueller has released a list of rumors he has heard. And one of them has to do with the potential availability of both Smith and Carr. This, of course would not stop them from potentially also drafting Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders or Miami’s Cam Ward.

Here is what Mueller reported on the veteran quarterback market heading into the new league year:

“Besides Cousins, Cleveland believes either Geno Smith and/or Derek Carr could be made available this offseason.”

Smith has one year left on his contract with the Seahawks, so if they are not open to extending the veteran, they could trade him. It would be hard to find a better option out there this offseason than Smith to make a move at the quarterback position in either free agency or on the trade market.

Carr is a bit more expensive. However, if the Browns were to trade for him from the Saints, they would only take on his $40 million base salary with no guaranteed money attached to the deal. So while his base salary is $50 million in 2026, the Browns would be under no prerogative to keep him on the roster.

It’s evident both of these guys are bridge quarterback options, and neither would prohibit the Browns from taking another one at the top of the 2025 NFL draft. However, it’s hard not to see both as a better option than Cousins.

Could Giants consider a trade for Saints QB Derek Carr?

Could the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints work out a trade for QB Derek Carr? One NFL insider says the idea shouldn’t be ruled out.

The New York Giants have been transparent about their desire to find a new franchise quarterback by any means necessary.

While most assume that will come via the 2025 NFL draft, general manager Joe Schoen has left the door open to other possibilities.

“We’ve done a lot of work on the college guys. John (Mara) mentioned earlier that we’ll look at free agency. We can also look throughout the draft, potential trade opportunities,” Schoen said at his year-end press conference. “We’ll look at any avenue we can to upgrade the position. We’ve talked before, in these situations, the film is one part of the equation.”

Could one of those trade options be New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr? ESPN’s Jordan Raanan certainly thinks so.

The trade avenue could also be an option. The future of Derek Carr in New Orleans is one that could come into question. Nothing should be ruled out.

The Saints may request that Carr take a pay cut this offseason but he’s already shot down that idea.

“I wouldn’t take a pay cut,” he told ESPN. “Yeah, I wouldn’t do that. Especially with what I put on tape. Would I restructure? Absolutely. I’ll always help the team that way. But there’s some things that you put out there that you earned.”

If that ruffles feathers in New Orleans, they could look to trade Carr. But then comes another problem: The quarterback has a no-trade clause in his contract.

Without a restructuring or pay cut, the Saints would stand to lose over $50 million in dead money this coming season by trading or releasing Carr. And with a base salary of $30 million, a bonus of nearly $11.5 million, and a guarantee of $10 million, what motivation would he have to accept a trade?

And perhaps the better question is, why would the Giants want to assume the remainder of his contract that has three void years, including a 2027 cap hit of $17,216,000?

Maybe there’s a way for the Saints, Giants, and Carr to make something happen, but it seems highly unlikely.

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B/R names Saints the worst offseason landing spot for their own former QB

Should the Saints pursue one of their own former quarterbacks in free agency? Bleacher Report says if they call Andy Dalton, he shouldn’t answer the phone:

The New Orleans Saints quarterback situation is all of a sudden up in the air with speculation on a Derek Carr trade starting to heat up. If that happens, the Saints would likely be in the market for a new veteran to guide their younger passers on the roster.

Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox recently suggested they avoid a reunion with a former quarterback, as they were named the worst landing spot for Andy Dalton this offseason. Here is what Knox had to say about his reasoning:

If Carr remains in New Orleans, Dalton could only hope for a low-level backup contract with the Saints. If they part ways with Carr, he might get a chance to compete with Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler for the starting job. However, he’d have to do so on a bargain contract and for a new coaching staff with which he is unfamiliar. Dalton would have almost nothing to gain from a Saints reunion.

For reference, the best landing spot was with the Tennessee Titans. That is a spot that he could get a higher-than-minimum deal while also having a chance to compete given the lack of talent in that quarterback room.

Dalton should not get too picky, though, seeing as he is clearly not in the best form of his career. He started five games, played in six, for the Carolina Panthers this past season. He completed 66.3% of his passes for 989 yards with seven touchdowns and six interceptions.

If he can get a nice-sized deal for some reason elsewhere, he should absolutely take it. New Orleans might not be the worst case, though. He is familiar with the city and with a handful of veterans that will still be on the team from his last run.

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