New Orleans Saints fans were hit with a bombshell report on Friday afternoon, with news breaking that starting quarterback Derek Carr may have to undergo surgery on a major shoulder injury -- potentially sidelining him for the entire 2025 season. It was something the team knew about, and clearly had been attempting to keep under wraps. But now it's out there. And it doesn't have any good news for the Saints and the salary cap.
This is brutal. In short, it doesn't help the Saints' salary cap outlook at all. Carr still has a 2025 cap hit of $20,462,000. If they cut him today, it would cost an extra $39,208,000 to pay Carr to go away. Trading him right now would cost an additional $37,953,000. If the Saints wait until after June 1 to move on, releasing Carr would not save any money in 2025 (they'd break even), while punting a cap hit of $59,670,000 in dead money onto the books for 2026. Trading him after June 1 would save just $1,255,000 this year while leaving behind that same $59.67 million hit on the 2026 salary cap.
If the Saints hadn't restructured Carr's contract this offseason, they might have been able to get out of it now. Before that restructure, his guarantees were contingent on him passing a physical. Obviously that wouldn't clear him if he were dealing with a major shoulder injury. But because the Saints guaranteed him $40 million this year and waived that requirement for a physical in the restructure, it doesn't matter what condition Carr's body is in. He's getting his money.
The only loophole remaining, and this is very important, is when and how this injury occurred. If it happened during a game last season or while he was training in the offseason? That would qualify as a football injury. If it were a freak accident that happened while skiing, skydiving, or reeling in a big swordfish? A non-football injury would allow the Saints to void his guarantees. But we don't know yet when and how this injury occurred, and it's irresponsible to seriously speculate. We'll just have to wait and see what else comes out.
Either way, this is all part of an ugly divorce between Carr and the Saints. It was repeatedly reported earlier this year that he was open to testing the market as a free agent, which suggests he may have waived his no-trade clause if the right team came calling for him. But Loomis tripled down on Carr by restructuring his contract, against Carr's wishes. Now he's having to borrow from the future to pay for a quarterback who won't be able to throw a pass with his arm in a sling. It's a mess of his own making.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: How does Derek Carr's injury impact the Saints and the salary cap?
