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As the lone NFL team without a head coach, it would make sense that supporters of the New Orleans Saints, from kids at home all the way up to starting quarterback Derek Carr, would wonder who the heck will be calling plays in the Superdome this fall, and how their philosophy will impact the team's timeline.
Will the Saints expect to win now, optimizing their veteran core of Alvin Kamara and Cameron Jordan to expert use? Or will they look to take a step back before they take a step forward, saying goodbye to old Sean Payton guys in favor of a more macro mindset in arguably the worst division in football?
Well, while that remains to be seen, one thing is certain: Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore will likely be the man for the job, and during his Super Bowl Monday media sessions, head coach Nick Sirianni noted that he believes he will be a darn good one at that.
“With Kellen, and I know that there’s opportunities potentially, what happens will happen. But hopefully I’ve done my job teaching him the things that I know and help him like other coaches have helped me as far as that goes,” Sirianni told reporters.
“But I know that when Kellen does get his opportunity, I think he’s highly detailed in teaching the game of football. I think that he loves this game. He works extremely hard. He’s got a great offensive mind to put our guys in positions to succeed and get better. And man, he’s a phenomenal person, great person to work with. That’s so important.”
Could Moore opt to keep Carr as his quarterback, coaching a man he famously beat the snot out of in a Boise State-Fresno State game a decade prior? Potentially so, but if he decides against it or that decision is made for him by the team's higher-ups, there will be plenty of opportunities for the Saints to move on from the veteran quarterback, as there are more than a few teams around the NFL who may be willing to take on his deal and make waves right out the gates.
3 Derek Carr trade destinations
1. The New York Jets
If Aaron Rodgers retires from the NFL after a truly disappointing 2024 NFL season, the New York Jets might opt to draft a rookie quarterback at pick seven who can lead the franchise into the future.
The problem? There probably won't be a quarterback at seven who fits that bill, as the top two arms in the draft, Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders, are expected to come off the board in the top-3, with their absolute floor coming one pick earlier to the Las Vegas Raiders at pick six. Factor in trades, which are always possible with quarterback-needy teams, and there's a chance the Jets are rolling into 2025 with… Tyrod Taylor, Jordan Travis, and Adrian Martinez as their quarterbacks, which is a very disheartening collection of players indeed.
With borderline no chance they bring back Sam Darnold on a $30+ million contract after how his initial tenure with the team came to an end, who knows, maybe the Jets could convince themselves that Derek Carr is the man to lead the franchise into the future?
While his contract is massive, if the two sides can agree to some sort of adjustment, or the Saints are willing to take on some money to facilitate a move – which they would likely have to do in almost any trade – having a 33-year-old Carr run the show in New York could provide some much-needed stability at the NFL's most important position, which, considering the Jets' recent history, would be a major get. Assuming the Jets are going to be a defense-first team built around Aaron Glenn's strengths, having Carr lead the offense could produce a winning formula.
2. The Pittsburgh Steelers
In the NFL, there's an old saying that goes, if you have two starting quarterbacks, you have zero, and based on how their 2024 season came to an end, that would appear to be the case for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Now granted, one way or the other, the Steelers are widely expected to at least keep one of their quarterbacks from 2024, be that Russell Wilson or Justin Fields, but what if they don't? What if they opt for a clean slate and want to add the textbook definition of an average NFL starting quarterback to avoid such massive swings up and down?
Well, if that's the goal, a trade for Derek Carr makes sense, as, at this point, the Fresno product is a known commodity. Carr completes roughly 65 percent of his passes, throws 2.5 touchdowns for every interception, and will keep a team right around .500 with his play, depending on what's around him.
On a good team, Carr can put a team into the playoffs, but when his roster isn't quite up to snuff, as many of his Raiders squads weren't, he's not going to drag a sup-par squad to the playoffs on his own.
Would the 2025 Steelers squad be the best team Carr has ever played for? Assuming they keep the team more or less the same, yeah, it probably would be. And while he doesn't have the same athletic abilities as Fields or the proven track record of Wilson, he kind of splits the difference between the two quarterbacks and could potentially add some much-needed stability to a Steelers team that hasn't had much since Ben Roethlisberger was running the show over half a decade ago. If the price is right, both financially and asset-wise, the Steelers could be a viable landing spot for Carr.
3. The Las Vegas Raiders
In the NFL, teams rarely pursue reunions at the quarterback spot. Sure, it happens occasionally, especially at the backup QB spot, but typically, if a team moves on from a quarterback, it's because they don't think they are good enough to be “the guy” long-term.
When the Raiders released Derek Carr, it made sense. While they had just extended the quarterback to a new three-year, $121.5 million contract with a no-trade clause in 2022, Carr refused to waive his no-trade clause to find a new NFL home and was ultimately granted his release in the spring of 2023. From there, Carr opted to join former head coach Dennis Allen in New Orleans, where he signed a four-year, $150 million deal, where he's had some highs but more lows and could ultimately be on his third team in four seasons by the start of the season.
And as for the Raiders? Well, their QB situation has been pretty brutal, and after failing to land a top-3 in the 2025 NFL Draft, it's worth wondering if the franchise will even be able to land a long-term option at spot seven or if they'll have to kick the can one more year down the road, or worse, overdraft a player like Jaxson Dart that few expected to be selected with a top-25 pick.
(Re)enter Carr, who the franchise felt good enough about to sign multiple different contracts, and maybe a better fit with the combination of Pete Carroll and Chip Kelly, especially considering the type of quarterbacks the latter has preferred at the NFL level. While Carr is no Marcus Mariota, who Kelly could likely bang the table for on a deal worth pennies on the dollar, he is similar to Sam Bradford and Nick Foles, both of whom turned in fantastic marks for the former Oregon coach in Philadelphia. While the price would need to be right, stranger things have happened in the NFL.
