Derek Carr Retires After 11 NFL Seasons

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr announced his retirement Saturday. The announcement ended an 11-year NFL career for the former Fresno State product.

In April, news surfaced that Carr was dealing with a shoulder injury that could impact his availability for the 2025 season. Surgery would keep him sidelined for a full year. Facing a lengthy recovery and rehab process, the 34-year-old Carr opted to retire instead.

Carr ends his career as an 11-year starer, nine of which came with the Las Vegas (previously, Oakland) Raiders. The Raiders selected Carr in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft, and he started all 16 games during his rookie year. As a sophomore, he threw for 3,987 yards and 32 TDs en route to his first Pro Bowl selection.

In 2016, Carr was 12-3 as a starter and led a league-leading seven fourth-quarter comebacks. His season came to an abrupt end when he suffered a broken leg in the fourth quarter of a blowout win over the Colts in Week 16. The Raiders went on to lose in the Wild Card round to the Houston Texans.

It wasn’t until 2021 when Carr got his first (and only) official playoff appearance. Amidst a turbulent season, Carr rallied the Raiders to wins in their final four regular season games to clinch a playoff berth. They would go on to lose to the eventual AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild Card. Down seven points near the goal line, Carr threw the game-sealing interception as time expired.

A disappointing season in the year that followed led to the Raiders releasing their longtime quarterback. Carr signed a massive free agent deal with the New Orleans Saints, reuniting with his former head coach Dennis Allen. In Year 1, the Saints finished 9-8, but missed the postseason due to tiebreakers.

In 2025, the Saints got off to an impressive 2-0 start, but the season crumbled. After losing three in a row, Carr was injured during a Monday Night Football game against the Kansas City Chiefs. He returned four weeks later, but got hurt again in Week 14 versus the Giants which ended his season.

On his final play of 2025, Carr suffered a concussion and left hand injury. Reports indicate that he’s also dealing with a rotator cuff issue which was severely limiting his arm strength.

Carr’s retirement will be freeing up significant cap space for the Saints moving forward. However, it mostly won’t be available for use until 2026. Next year, the Saints will have a chance to finally hit the reset button after years of salary cap gymnastics.

For this season, New Orleans will move forward with a quarterback room consisting of Spencer Rattler, Jake Haener, and second-round pick Tyler Shough. Shough — who was selected 40th overall in last month’s draft — is favored to start. Having said that, the Saints could choose to let the rookie sit and develop. The Saints were winless last season when Carr didn’t play. Rattler, a fifth-round pick in 2024, went 0-6 as a starter.