By Ross Jackson
METAIRIE, La. – The retirement of New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek was an absolute shock to many. But for the Saints, it also represents the final piece of a massive shift for the franchise.
They weren’t blindsided, that much is clear from the fact that the team had a press release ready when the announcement went public. Instead, the Saints have been preparing to be without Carr for some time. Even if the concept of retirement came on late in the process, New Orleans drafted a quarterback and began to signal that the organization was ready to move ahead.
That time is now upon them as the franchise is officially into its new era following the retirement of the former Saints passer.
Statement from Derek Carr: pic.twitter.com/31tDccwRuI
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) May 10, 2025
A new head coach, a new quarterback, and a new identity are now at the forefront of the organization. The Saints should view this as a positive, even while they remain complimentary and thankful to Carr for his time as their signal caller.
There are momentous shifts that take place for organizations once every era. There is the time before ex-coach and quarterback tandem Sean Payton and Drew Brees arrived in New Orleans and after. There is before Brees’ retirement and what came next. The same for Payton’s departure.
This will be one of those moments. There will be the “before Carr and former head coach Dennis Allen” era, but as of Saturday morning, the team is firmly in the after.
Not only do the Saints have a path forward led by new head coach Kellen Moore. But they are steps away from financial freedom thanks to the salary cap implications of the move and the likelihood the team will turn to a quarterback on a rookie contract.
Including the reported $30M payback to the #Saints in 2025, and assuming his retirement is processed after June 1st, Derek Carr should leave behind dead cap hits of:
2025: $14.462M
2026: $35.67M— Spotrac (@spotrac) May 10, 2025
Not only that, but Moore can now handpick his next starting quarterback, which may have happened in this year’s draft.
“We’re going to let all three roll,” Moore said in his rookie minicamp media availability. “They’ve all earned these opportunities. We’ll let Jake (Haener), Spencer (Ratler) and Tyler (Shough), all three, kind of go through this process again. We’ll play it patient, let these guys compete, let them get into training camp and naturally these guys will kind of take care of it.”
After years of pushing to compete, restructuring contracts and pushing money down the road, all in the pursuit of the win-now mentality, the Saints finally have the resources and momentum to begin their next era. An era that will still likely have a win-now approach (all teams do), but simultaneously one of new resolve, new identity and new possibilities.
