Questions continue to swirl about Derek Carr’s status with the New Orleans Saints as the quarterback could potentially miss the 2025 season due to a shoulder injury.
Reports emerged before last month’s NFL Draft that Carr might be unhappy in New Orleans and wanted to become a free agent before the Saints restructured his contract.
Now Carr’s future with the Saints is up in the air amid this injury and New Orleans selecting quarterback Tyler Shough in the second round of the draft.
NFL Network reporter Jane Slater provided context on Tuesday to help clarify the situation.
Few updates from the Insiders today on the #Saints and the Derek Carr situation according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) May 6, 2025
1) Carr HAS been to New Orleans twice in recent weeks to meet with the team doctor at the facility
2) He believes he injured his throwing…
According to Slater, Carr has met with team doctors at the New Orleans facility twice in recent weeks. It’s not yet known if he visited with new head coach Kellen Moore, though the two have talked on the phone.
Carr believes he injured his throwing shoulder in the Saints’ Week 14 matchup against the New York Giants, the same game where he injured his left wrist.
Slater indicated that information is surfacing now about Carr’s situation because he first noticed the shoulder issue when he started to ramp up his offseason throwing work.
“Prior to that I’m told he only threw a bit in a walkthrough with a fake football to injured players and Alvin Kamara,” Slater posted on X. “He didn’t get a chance to come back and really push it because Saints got eliminated and were out of contention and they sat players.”
Slater added that it appears Carr would prefer to avoid surgery while the Saints are trying to determine what’s best for both Carr and the team.
“A decision either way will be made here sooner rather than later per same source,” noted Slater.
After this season, Carr still has one year remaining on his four-year, $150 million contract. He carries a $40 million base salary for 2026.
