That golf clap you heard this week was the sound of Saints fans celebrating the return of Derek Carr.
When Mickey Loomis and Kellen Moore told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine this week that Carr was their guy in 2025, you could hear the collective “meh” across Orleans Parish.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell generated more excitement when she announced the launch of “City News.”
You have to go back to the star-crossed tenure of Aaron Brooks to find another quarterback as polarizing to Saints fans as Carr. He has tried just about everything to win over the locals, but he simply hasn’t won enough games to win over their hearts and minds.
Truth be told, his two-year run has been about as “mid” as fans’ reaction to his return. While he’s put up a solid 98.8 quarterback rating and gone 14-13 as the starter, it’s an empty-calorie resume. Only two of Carr’s victories have come against teams that ended the season with winning records -- the 9-8 Colts and Bucs in 2023 – and he’s gone just 1-8 record against playoff teams.
Even more dispiriting, he’s lacked a single signature win or moment. He has yet to record a comeback win or author a dramatic upset. That 44-19 win against the Cowboys in Week 2 seemed great at the time, but lost its luster quickly as the season progressed.
All of this explains the indifference he has engendered among the team’s loyal and passionate fanbase. Most don’t hate him. They just long for something better and know he’s merely the bridge to an uncertain, yet-to-be-defined future.
Such is the curse of following an all-time great like Drew Brees. Brees set the standard in New Orleans. Saints fans now know what great quarterback play looks like, and they are desperate for someone to deliver them from the pigskin purgatory they’ve endured since Brees retired.
They have seen enough of Carr to know he’s not their Messiah.
What matters, though, is not what fans think, but what Kellen Moore and his staff think. They are the ones who will dictate the Saints’ future and determine the makeup of the roster. Ultimately, it will be up to them to decide if Carr or second-year quarterback Spencer Rattler is the long-term answer at quarterback.
Right now, we don’t know that answer. The commitment to Carr means little beyond this season.
The Saints really had no other option than to keep Carr is they wanted to be competitive in Moore’s first year. His roster status for the 2025 season was all but cemented a year ago when the Saints restructured his contract to create space on their 2024 salary cap. By doing so, the Saints painted themselves into a corner (Carr-ner?) and left themselves no other option but to keep him if they want to improve their aging, depth-shy roster.
Alas, hope is not totally lost.
In Moore, offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier, quarterbacks coach Scott Tolzein and defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, they Saints have an army of former quarterbacks on the staff. Hopefully, their experience helps them form a better QB quorum than the previous regime.
Of the many shortcomings former coach Dennis Allen and his staff had, quarterback evaluation might have been the biggest.
Never forget, Allen and the Saints went “all in” on Deshaun Watson in the spring of 2022 and were fortunate that the Cleveland Browns outbid them for his services.
Their fallback options were Jameis Winston and Andy Dalton.
A year later, they went all-in on Carr and outbid the Panthers and Jets for him with a massive (at the time) four-year, $150 million contract offer.
When you’re trolling in the same waters as the Browns, Jets and Panthers, you might want to reconsider how you’re doing business. It’s no surprise that all four franchises will draft in the top 10 this year and only Carolina (Bryce Young) has a define
While Moore’s reputation as a quarterback whisperer is impressive, we don’t truly know how good he is at evaluating the position. As a coach, he inherited Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts and wasn’t a part of the procurement processes with their respective teams. We know he can coach quarterbacks. But can he identify them? His ability to do so very well could make or break his tenure here.
Evaluating quarterbacks is one of the most difficult jobs in the NFL. Few are truly good at it. Even the best misfire. The 49ers went bananas for Trey Lance four years ago. The Philadelphia Eagles did likewise with Carson Wentz in 2016.
What’s important is not whether you miss or not, but that you eventually hit, as the 49ers and Eagles eventually did with Brock Purdy and Hurts, respectively.
So ignore the Carr news this week. It’s largely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Carr is merely the Crescent City Connection to the future. What matters is what the Saints plan to do A.D.: After Derek.
Is Rattler the future franchise guy?
Is it someone in the upcoming draft?
Or is Arch Manning the answer?
Hopefully, Kellen and Co. have an After Derek plan and can execute it. The Saints’ future depends on it.
