By Ross Jackson
Many questions still linger following the surprise retirement of New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr.
The relationship between the team and player looked to quickly deteriorate even before health became a concern in March. Carr had been absent since the end of the 2024 NFL season, including never meeting in person with new head coach Kellen Moore, despite meeting with team doctors at the facility.
Per reports, Carr and his camp were interested in exploring a future with another team. That was before his contract was restructured in early March. There now are more details of that exploration from Katherine Terrell and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN from a report released Friday morning.
Per league sources to Terrell and Fowler, Carr’s camp checked in with at least two teams before the offseason’s events unfolded.
“A Carr representative spoke with at least two teams in the market for a quarterback about potential interest in the veteran, according to three league sources. While one of the sources classified the contact as indirect, both front offices were made aware that Carr might be looking for a new playing home.”
The teams were not explicitly mentioned, but the Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, New York Giants and Tennessee Titans all had unclear futures at signal caller at the time these conversations would have taken place.
Ultimately, the pursuit of a new landing spot didn’t work out for Carr, and he would eventually retire after his shoulder injury came to light. But the interest in heading elsewhere does seem to suggest that there was a point at which Carr, and other teams, believed he was healthy enough to play even though it might not have been in a Saints uniform.
