Saints confirm Derek Carr’s shoulder ‘issue,’ await ‘resolution’

Saints general manager Mickey Loomis confirmed for the first time on Wednesday that starting quarterback Derek Carr does have a shoulder “issue,” but he declined to discuss specifics or forecast Carr’s playing status for the upcoming season.

“We’re hoping to get some resolution and some clarity on that in the near future,” Loomis said. “And when we do, I’ll report back to you. Otherwise, I don’t have anything more on Derek.”

Loomis also sidestepped a question about whether he believes the Saints’ starting QB for 2025 is currently on the roster.

“I’m not going to answer that,” Loomis began, “because that will just lead to a bunch of speculation, whichever way I answer it.”

The issue first arose when NFL.com, citing an anonymous source, reported on April 11 that Carr might need shoulder surgery which could cause him to miss part or all of the upcoming season.

The report did not state which shoulder Carr injured or how he injured it. Carr’s agent, Timothy Younger, did not return multiple messages from the Associated Press about the matter. And until Wednesday, the Saints had not addressed it, either.

Loomis declined to say when he first learned of the injury or explain his understanding of how it happened.

Car, who is 14-13 in two seasons as a Saints starter, injured the AC joint in his throwing shoulder in 2023, but never missed a game because of it. Carr missed seven games in 2024, but because of oblique and hand injuries.

The Saints’ injury reports last season did not mention any issues with Carr’s shoulder, and when he played, he had multiple downfield completions that went for 50 or more yards.

But as Carr entered the third year of his four-year Saints contract, doubt surrounded his long-term future with the club because of a coaching change, his inconsistent play and apparent fan discontent.

When the Super Bowl was in New Orleans in February, Carr was nowhere to be found, even as numerous Saints representatives participated in events around town as representatives of the host team and the city.

When Kellen Moore was introduced as the Saints’ new coach after helping the Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl, he initially was noncommittal about Carr’s status as a starter before suggesting at the NFL combine a few weeks later that he planned to stick with New Orleans’ incumbent QB.

Moore was the Eagles’ offensive coordinator and plans to design and call offensive plays for the Saints.

The NFL mandates that its teams host at least one pre-draft media conference involving a top front office executive — a requirement the Saints fulfilled when Loomis was available Wednesday.

While Loomis declined to answer questions about Carr, he indicated that team’s uncertain quarterback situation wouldn’t unduly influence the club’s strategy for selecting players in the NFL draft, which begins Thursday night.

The Saints have never picked a QB in the first round since Loomis became GM in 2002. Meanwhile, Loomis said he believes NFL teams can jeopardize their future by over-emphasizing positions of need in the draft because that can cause them to overvalue prospects.

Loomis said the Saints need their higher draft choices to yield players who can contribute right away, and hopefully for years to come, regardless of position.

Barring a trade, New Orleans is scheduled to pick ninth overall in Thursday night’s first round. The Saints have three other picks in the top 100: the eighth pick in the second round (40th overall), seventh in the third round (71st), 29th in the third round (93rd).

New Orleans also has two picks in the fourth round, one in the sixth and two in the seventh.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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