A serious shoulder condition has led to the end of Derek Carr’s NFL career.
One of the Seattle Seahawks’ 2025 regular season opponents will have a new starting quarterback.
New Orleans Saints starter Derek Carr has decided to retire from the NFL after 11 seasons in the league. Carr faced right shoulder surgery on a degenerative rotator cuff, which would’ve meant missing all of 2025.
Derek Carr has announced his retirement.
In late March, while ramping up his preparation for the 2025 season, Derek experienced pain in his right shoulder. It was his first time throwing a football at significant volume since recovering from both a concussion and left hand… pic.twitter.com/SrcJEzDDnU
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) May 10, 2025
Carr began his career with the Raiders back in 2014 and was their starting quarterback until the 2022 season. He led the team to playoff berths in 2016 and 2021, but unfortunately a broken leg toward the end of 2016 meant missing that postseason. I don’t think it’s controversial to suggest that Carr’s stint with the Saints didn’t go particularly well, but it’s an unfortunate way for his career to end.
As mentioned at the top, this news is relevant to the Seahawks, who host the New Orleans Saints this season. Instead of facing Carr one more time, Seattle will be going up against a team quarterbacked by (presumably) second-round pick Tyler Shough or second-year player Spencer Rattler, who had a few starts as a rookie in Carr’s absence.
While the NFC South as a whole could be a significantly improved division this year, the Saints may finally be in a state of rebuilding.