The Athletic's Dianna Russini reports that news of Derek Carr's shoulder injury "did not come as a surprise" to the New Orleans Saints, which is what you'd hope to hear. Still, that Carr is dealing with a major shoulder injury at all is concerning.
Let's be clear about this: New Orleans is in a bad situation at quarterback. At least they weren't as shocked by this development as their fans were. Now what they do in reaction to this news going public is unclear. The Saints historically aren't very reactive to the discourse online or what their fans are calling for. But the timing on this information going public, days before the voluntary offseason program kicks off and just weeks before the 2025 NFL draft, makes it almost a crisis.
Since the Saints were already in the know, this does explain why they've done so much work on quarterbacks leading up the draft. Head coach Kellen Moore flew out to see pro day throwing sessions for Cam Ward (Miami), the presumptive first overall pick, as well as potential top-100 picks like Quinn Ewers (Texas), Will Howard (Ohio State), and Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss). Ewers and Tyler Shough (Louisville) have both visited the team facility in Metairie on official 30 visits, among others.
Adding new talent to the room was already a priority. With Carr potentially missing the season it's a three-alarm fire. Like Russini reported, the Saints were aware of that. Now we'll see how they respond.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Report: Saints already knew about Derek Carr's shoulder injury
