A surprising theory has emerged about New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr’s injury and the public information about it.
Dianna Russini of The Athletic said on the “Scoop City” podcast that all indications are that news of Carr’s potentially season-ending injury was leaked by the quarterback’s camp, not the Saints. Russini found the timing of the story “fishy,” and believes this may be Carr’s way of sending the Saints a message as the team works out quarterbacks prior to the NFL Draft.
“From what I can gather, it appears the information got out from the Carr side of it,” Russini said. “I had some conversations with people in New Orleans who were aware of it, but weren’t looking to put it on blast. … I think he’s the one who isn’t thrilled with the Saints at this point.”
Russini added that there was reason to believe that new Saints coach Kellen Moore was not enthusiastic about Carr, which may have played into the quarterback’s issues.
“Maybe this is Derek Carr looking at the situation and going, ‘I don’t want the Kirk Cousins treatment. I don’t want to be your quarterback, you guys draft a young guy coming in here, and it’s basically, when is he going to play?’ Which makes a quarterback room tense.”
Cousins was signed as a free agent by the Atlanta Falcons, only for the team to immediately draft Michael Penix Jr. less than two months later. Penix wound up starting by the end of the season, while Cousins is trying to find a way out of Atlanta.
The Saints certainly do not see Carr as a long-term answer at quarterback. They have been meeting with quarterbacks throughout the pre-draft process, and even visited with one the day the Carr news came out. Carr’s message may be that the Saints are welcome to draft a quarterback, but they should not expect him to play if they do.
Carr and the Saints just restructured his contract in a way that is beneficial to him. He is not going anywhere in 2025 no matter what, making the situation even more intriguing.
