Derek Carr Reportedly Dealing with Significant Shoulder Injury, 2025 Availability in Doubt

The injury was first reported late last week and came largely out of left field. Prior to the announcement of Carr’s ailing shoulder, it was already obvious that there was uncertainty – if not tension – in the air surrounding Carr’s future with the Saints just two years into his four-year, $150M deal signed in 2023. Now, the outlook for Carr and his fantasy managers is even murkier with the added wrinkle of this shoulder injury. With a brand new coaching staff coming in under former Eagles OC Kellen Moore (who has neglected to throw concrete support behind Carr as the team’s starter), it’s fair to question just how safe Carr’s job as the QB1 in New Orleans is. His play on the field last season certainly didn’t help the cause, but a roster that was whittled down severely by injuries can certainly be partially blamed for the Saints’ post-Week 2 collapse. Regardless, reports have emerged recently that the Saints are doing their due diligence on Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders, who has slid down draft boards in recent weeks right into range for New Orleans (who currently hold the 9th selection in the first round). Given the unspecified nature of Carr’s injury and the non-existent timeline as of today for a potential amount of games he could miss as a result of it, the Saints appear to be pigeonholed into selecting a signal caller in the 2025 draft – which means Carr could face competition this summer even if he does wind up being healthy enough to play this year.