Derek Carr is out of the lineup for the time being, and the Saints have yet to place him on injured reserve. The veteran quarterback is nevertheless unlikely to play again this season. 
Further evaluation of the injury to Carr’s non-throwing hand – which is fractured in two places – has made it clear a return is not imminent, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. Only three games remain in the Saints’ season, so while surgery is still not required it would come as a surprise at this point if he were to see any further game time in 2024. Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football notes the door is still open to Carr playing, but he is not in the picture for now.
Carr’s absence – provided it covers the final three weeks of the season – will mark an end to his second campaign in New Orleans. The former Raider provided capable play at points last year (during the second half of the season in particular), and expectations were high for improved efficiency with new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak in place. Like the Saints in general, Carr was unable to maintain a high level of play following a strong start to the season, though, and a postseason berth is not realistic at this point. The 33-year-old thus faces a strong possibility of not playing again until the start of the 2025 season.
Carr’s pact calls for a $30MM base salary next year. $10MM of that figure is guaranteed already, and the remainder will vest on March 17. As a result, a release before or after June 1 during the upcoming offseason would not yield cap savings barring a notable restructure being worked out by then. With no guarantees in place after 2025, though, Carr’s contract could set up next season as his final one in New Orleans.
The Saints have Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler in place as healthy quarterback options for now. The former started Sunday’s loss to the Commanders, but he was benched in favor of the latter. Rattler helped lead New Orleans to a rebound on offense during the second half of that game, and it would come as no surprise if he were to get the nod for Week 16. The Saints close out the season with games against the Packers, Raiders and Buccaneers, and that stretch could allow Rattler to boost his stock in the organization while Carr continues to rehab.
Is New Orleans finally ready to eat its cap vegetables and properly rebuild instead of going all-in on trying to go 9-8?
I understand what the record says, but this isn’t a bad football team. There is zero reason to tear it down and rebuild. As a fan, I don’t want to see it. Rebuilds aren’t always this magical pill that lead teams to championship glory.
The Saints have some holes, yes. They have extra draft picks too, though. It is going to be important to nail the majority of those selections, adding some help in the trenches and WR room. It isn’t undoable.
The coach hire is going to be critical, too. That worries me more than then finding the right players. But we’ll see.
I’m not saying they’re a bad team (and as a Jets fan I certainly don’t romanticize rebuilding), but even if they’re middle of the pack, they’re middle of the pack with an old roster, an uncertain at best QB situation, and a terrible cap situation. I get that fielding a competitive team in a city that absolutely adores them is important, but the way their cap situation and roster are, at some point it makes sense to unclog all that a bit and try to transition toward the next competitive version of this team. I really like some of the younger pieces they have, but I think they need a step back before they can take a meaningful step forward.
I’ll chime in here and agree with both of you. They do have nice, young talent and I do think they can thread the needle and either restructure or release some of the older players, saving some money (resetting the money) but it’s going to be so important to hit on every single pick, and the next staff had better be good at developing that talent for NFL competition. They’ll also benefit from a 3rd place schedule, so that should ease the “soft rebuild ” in some capacity (think Commanders this year). I agree 9-8 isn’t optimal, but it’s a start and does signal the fan base that the attempt is there. Failing that attempt, however, will result in a total rebuild from scratch, which hope isn’t the case.
Jets. One year fill in for drafted QB and Adams, provided they hold on to him.
Im tired of being average. I want the rebuild. Ive hated carr signing from day one.