The uncertain status of Saints QB Derek Carr’s shoulder has been a large question as New Orleans ramps up its offseason program, reportedly skipping voluntary OTAs last month and not being at the facility to rehab his shoulder injury.
According to Jane Slater, Carr has returned to New Orleans to meet with their team doctor twice in recent weeks. She writes that the organization is still trying to decide what’s best for the team while Carr is still determining the best decision for his injured shoulder.
Slater writes Carr didn’t start throwing until this spring, which led to him noticing the issue in his shoulder when pushing his routine to a higher level.
As for possibly undergoing surgery, Slater reports Carr would “rather not” after previously having surgery on the same arm. In the end, the quarterback is “still navigating that decision.”
Slater’s source indicates a decision on Carr will be made “sooner rather than later,” which tracks with Saints GM Mickey Loomis saying last week that they are hoping to have clarity on the matter.
“He does have an issue with his shoulder; we’re hoping to get some resolution and clarity on that in the near future, and when we do, I’ll report back to you,” Loomis said, via ESPN.
Speaking at a church service in Las Vegas in recent weeks, Carr said he had an MRI and mentioned he’s been in constant communication with the team about his health.
“Yes… I have a shoulder injury, despite what ESPN says,” Carr said, via Farrah Yvette. “I have an MRI report to prove it, the team knows about it, we’ve been in constant communication, there’s nothing wrong, we’re figuring it out and we’re gonna go forward with that.”
Carr is trying to tune out the public’s voices as they all come up with their own hypothesis as to what will happen next in the Saints’ QB room.
“You never know what someone’s really going through… why do we always have to have an opinion? Twitter and Instagram has ruined things for some people. Because now all these people think that they have voices that have to be heard… Some people’s voices don’t need to be heard right now. Because not one of our opinions in here matters.”
Carr, 34, is a former second-round pick of the Raiders back in 2014. He was in the final year of his contract when the Raiders signed him to a five-year, $125 million extension that included $70 million guaranteed in 2017.
Carr stood to make a base salary of $19.77 million in the final year of his contract and was set to be an unrestricted free agent in 2023 when he signed a three-year, $121.5 million extension.
However, the Raiders released Carr the following season and he signed a four-year, $150 million deal with the Saints.
He’s due a base salary of $40 million and $50 million in total in the final year of his contract in 2026.
In 2024, Carr appeared in ten games for the Saints and completed 68.1 percent of his passes for 1,926 yards, 14 touchdowns, and four interceptions.
We’ll have more on Carr and the Saints as the news becomes available.