Ahead of the start of the 2025 NFL Draft, it was reported that New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr is dealing with a shoulder injury. Allegedly, the injury has his availability for the upcoming 2025 season up in the air.
But the timing of the report was interesting, and The Athletic’s Diana Russini claimed earlier in the month on a podcast that there are folks around the league who think there’s something “fishy” going on about the injury. She also suggested that the report, which seemingly came from Carr’s camp, could be an attempt for the quarterback to get himself out of New Orleans.
However, Carr recently spoke at a church service in Las Vegas and cleared the air on the validity of his injury. He said that despite “what some lady on a podcast might think,” he is indeed dealing with a shoulder injury.
Derek Carr is publicly speaking about his shoulder injury. During a church service in Las Vegas (@TheChurchLV), he said he has been in contact with #Saints officials, has gotten an MRI and says everyone is trying to figure out the next steps. pic.twitter.com/ud2GRiHixI
— Farrah Yvette (@farrah_yvette) April 28, 2025
The Saints did use one of their picks in the 2025 NFL Draft on a quarterback who could replace Carr next season. New Orleans used a second-round pick on former University of Louisville signal-caller Tyler Shough. Shough played seven seasons of college football with three teams and totaled 3,195 passing yards and 23 passing touchdowns compared to only six interceptions in 12 games played with the Cardinals in the 2024 campaign.
Carr was a starter for much of the 2024 season for a Saints team that ended the season tied for the worst record in the NFC South at 5-12. New Orleans had a particularly disastrous end to the campaign, as the team lost every one of its final four games of the season.
The 34-year-old is fresh off maybe the least productive season of his NFL career from an individual standpoint as well, as he threw for a career-low 2,145 yards in his second season playing for the Saints organization.
Even though Carr put the kibosh on Russini’s hypothesis, the writing is still on the wall for him in New Orleans now that the team has a talented, young quarterback in the fold. If Carr does indeed get traded soon, hopefully it will be to a team that can provide him with a role as a consistent starter.
