Derek Carr shares unique reason for his decision to retire

Derek Carr stunned the sports world last month when he announced his retirement, and there were several factors that went into the decision. One of them is a bit more unique than the others.

Carr and the New Orleans Saints determined that the 34-year-old would need surgery and to miss all of the 2025 season if he were to continue playing. He could have undergone surgery and sat out while still getting paid, but that is exactly what Carr says he did not want to do.

Carr said he would have felt badly about collecting his $30 million salary without contributing to the team.

“That part was tough because I didn’t want to have surgery and just sit there and — it sounds crazy but — just take the Saints money,” Carr told David Rumsey of Front Office Sports in an interview that was published on Wednesday.

There were rumblings that Carr was unhappy with the Saints and that new head coach Kellen Moore may have been looking to move on from the veteran. Some people even questioned the legitimacy of Carr’s shoulder injury, and he went out of his way to call out one reporter over that.

Carr said he could have played through the shoulder injury, but he would have been nowhere near 100 percent effective. He does not feel that would have been fair to the Saints, either.

“I never played just for the money,” Carr said. “I had a whole bunch of people tell me how crazy I was, and ‘Man, I would never have done that.’ That’s all cool, but I’ve gained all these things that the world has to offer, and it doesn’t really do anything for your heart. I knew my heart was at peace, and that’s really all that mattered.”

If there was true animosity between Carr and the Saints, the four-time Pro Bowl quarterback easily could have had the surgery, sat out, collected his $30 million and then retired next year. He chose not to do that, which is probably quite telling.