By Ross Jackson
New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr has spoken publicly for the first time since news broke of his season-threatening shoulder injury.
While delivering a church sermon in Las Vegas, the site of his former team team the Las Vegas Raiders, Carr opened up about the injury, the skepticism shared by fans and, vaguely, his opinions on the circulating reports that he has been using the injury as a means of leverage to leave New Orleans.
Derek Carr is publicly speaking about his shoulder injury. During a church service in Las Vegas (@TheChurchLV), he said he has been in contact with #Saints officials, has gotten an MRI and says everyone is trying to figure out the next steps. pic.twitter.com/ud2GRiHixI
— Farrah Yvette (@farrah_yvette) April 28, 2025
“Yes, I have a shoulder injury,” Carr said while on stage at ChurchLV. “Despite what ESPN says and what some lady on a podcast might think. I have an MRI report to prove it. The team knows about it. We’ve been in constant communication. There’s nothing wrong. We’re figuring it out and we’re going to go forward with that,”
The information he shared isn’t wildly different from what his brother, David Carr, shared before the draft began last week on NFL Network.
The “lady on a podcast” Carr referenced was of course Dianna Russini of The Athletic. Russini reported the opinion of league sources who believed that Carr was laying “trade bait” in order to get out of New Orleans.
Carr addressing the injury provides a level of clarity in that he publicly addressed the matter. He also alludes to the relationship between him and the Saints as having “nothing wrong” though the team has chosen to remain mum on the matter.
Carr did not address reported division on his contract nor that he allegedly positioned himself for a $50 million raise before apparently being turned down and subsequently wanting to move on. But his light suggestion of he and the Saints “figuring it out” perhaps disputes that. Though what may truly be figured out in the long run is the most amicable way to split.
The Saints drafted Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough with the No. 40 overall selection in last weekend’s NFL Draft, signaling a readiness to move on if necessary.
Carr, however, blames social media and voices of others for the turmoil centered around his situation and the Saints’ quarterback position.
“Why do we always have to have an opinion?” Carr asked the audience. “Twitter and Instagram (have) ruined things for some people. Because now all these people think that they have voices that have to be heard. It’s like, some people’s voices don’t need to be heard right now.”
