The Derek Carr era is over in New Orleans after only two seasons in the Big Easy. Carr has decided he will hang up the spikes for good at the age of 34 while playing 11 seasons in the NFL with the Raiders and Saints. Carr suffered a labral tear in his right shoulder which is his throwing arm, last season. Medical scans have shown he has degenerative changes in his rotator cuff which will need surgery to repair. Everything can heal on its own which will have a longer timetable. If Carr did have surgery, he would definitely miss the entire 2025 season. Instead he will forfeit 30 million in earnings in the contract and walk away from the game for good.

Derek Carr was drafted by the Oakland Raiders back in the 2014 NFL draft from Fresno State University in the second round. He played for the Raiders in Oakland and when they moved to Las Vegas for 9 seasons. In 2023 the Raiders head coach was Josh McDaniel,s the former Patriots disciple who should have never landed a second gig as a leader of a football franchise. McDaniels benched Carr. Things escalated as Carr would then not waive his no trade clause and eventually be released. Carr signed with the New Orleans Saints who were looking for their next QB to lead this franchise. Since Drew Brees retired, they have fallen on hard times. Carr made 4 Pro-Bowls. In his first ten years in the league, he played 15 or more games per season. He had some years he hovered around the top 10 quarterbacks in the league. Overall he may have been a middle of the pack QB his entire career. He only played in one post-season game in his career and was on the losing end of the wild card game in 2022 with the Raiders. Carr played for six different head coaches throughout his career of which two of them were interim. He had 5 offensive coordinators when he wore silver and black. With the gold and black uniforms in two seasons, he had 2 different offensive coordinators and two different head coaches. If Carr came back this season, he would have had three different head coaches in New Orleans as the Saints hired Kellen Moore during the off-season.

Last year the Saints were 0-7 without Derek Carr as the starter. Carr had an even 5-5 record in 10 games before his season ended. He completed 67.7% of his passes and tallied up 2,145 passing yards with 15 touchdown passes along with 5 interceptions. In New Orleans he leaves the Big Easy with a winning record in 27 games he did start, he went 14-13. I thought when Carr did sign with New Orleans, they had the best shot at winning the crappy NFC South division the last two seasons. His first season in New Orleans he had the Saints close, but at the end they could not march across the finish line. In 11 years Carr would have a losing record playing in 169 NFL games. He had a record of 77-92 as a starter. His completion rating was 65.1% as he tallied up 41,245 passing yards. Threw 257 touchdown passes with 112 interceptions. His two best seasons were in 2015 & ’16. In 2015 he had his career high with 32 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions. In 2016 his record as the starter was 12-3 and the Raiders looked like they were going to go deep into the post-season. Carr had 28 touchdown passes and only 6 interceptions in 15 games. The Raiders would make post-season and Carr would not play because he suffered a season ending injury close to the end of regular season. The Raiders would be one and done that year in post season.

Derek Carr’s brother was drafted in the first round of the 2002 NFL draft by the Houston Texans from Fresno State University. David played 10 seasons in the NFL with Texans, Giants, Panthers, and 49ers. His career started in 2002 and ended in 2012 as he played in 94 games. David was a first round bust. His rookie season he set the record for most sacks in one season by a QB in his first year. He went 23-56 as a starter and tallied up 14,452 passing yards. He threw for 65 touchdown passes compared to 71 interceptions. Derek most definitely had a better career than his brother David. I remember David put in a ton of time helping his younger brother be the better NFL quarterback.

The New Orleans Saints did draft a quarterback this season a few weeks back. In the second round at number 40, they selected Tyler Shough from Louisville. In 2024 the Saints drafted Spencer Rattler. In 2023 the Saints drafted Jack Haener. Shough was most likely hand-picked by the team’s new head coach Kellen Moore. Look for Shough to be the guy unless they land some veteran quarterback in a trade or pick one up as a free agent. Drew Brees was not drafted by the Saints. The Saints’ best QB they have drafted, you have to go back to 1971 when they drafted Archie Manning. Archie never got the Saints to post-season. Bobby Hebert was the first ever Saints quarterback to guide the Saints to the playoffs back in 1987.

Hebert played in the USFL with the Michigan Panthers and Oakland Invaders before going to the NFL where he signed with the Saints in 1985. The Saints’ best teams in history never developed a franchise QB. Now it’s time they do that. They have a new head coach. They have a slew of young QB’s to mold. Derek Carr unfortunately was not going to bring this Saints team all the way to the Superbowl. Playoffs at best. It did not happen. This current Saints team should gut this team that is in salary cap hell the last few years. Getting Carr off the books is a start. It would not take the Saints long to catch up to all the other teams in the division if they cleaned house and let the young guys get the experience while growing as a team. Who knows? Maybe one of the guys they have at QB will be the answer. If not, next year’s crop of QBs is much better. I did like Carr as a QB for both the Raiders and Saints. He was not going to be the next Mathew Stafford by going to another team and winning the Superbowl type of veteran. He had a nice career and was stuck in the middle of the pack his entire career which is not a bad thing as many guys can’t even start one game in the NFL.