New Orleans Saints and Las Vegas Raiders fans were hit with unexpected news on Saturday morning: Derek Carr has retired from the NFL after 11 seasons.
Carr spent nine seasons in a Raiders uniform, split between Oakland and Sin City. He then played his final two years in New Orleans. Many expected Carr to once again lead the Saints offense in 2025, but he suffered "a labral tear and also had significant degenerative changes to his rotator cuff," per the Saints' official press release.
Carr retires with 41,245 passing yards and 257 touchdowns to his name. He is a four-time Pro Bowl quarterback and finished third in MVP voting back in 2016.
He was not a perfect player, but Carr was undeniably productive across more than a decade in the pros. He retires to feelings of great warmth from two fanbases, even if those relationships weren't always the smoothest in the moment. Carr underwent his share of criticism over the years, but he has been an essential part of Raiders and Saints football.
His final message to fans will have someone cutting onions in your vicinity.
"Upon reflection of prayer, and in discussion with Heather, I’ve decided to retire from the National Football League. For more than 11 years, we have been incredibly blessed, and we are forever grateful and humbled by this experience. It’s difficult to find the right words to express our thanks to all the teammates, coaches, management, ownership, team officials and especially the fans who made this journey so special. Your unwavering support has meant the world to us.”
Derek Carr's retirement message has Saints, Raiders fans thinking about the good times
This is such a shocking development. We've known Carr might miss the 2025 campaign for a while, but there was never any indication that he might retire. Still 34 years old, Carr figured to have gas left in the tank. He was productive across 10 starts last season, throwing for 2,145 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions.
His 2024 season ended with a concussion and a left hand injury in December. Months later, as he was ramping up toward a return, Carr began to feel discomfort in his shoulder. That led to medical exams and the ultimate revelation: Surgery "was an option," per the Saints, but there was no guarantee that Carr would return to his prior level of "strength, function and performance."
Carr only appeared in the playoffs once — a first-round loss to the Cincinnati Begnals in 2022 — which was the biggest knock against him. He engineered three winning seasons in total, but dealt with untimely injuries. Carr was never short on production, but his teams were frustratingly mediocre, often for reasons well beyond his control.
That lack of collective success led to immense frustration with Carr, who fell into a maddening category of "good not great" at football's most important position. Even so, it's hard not to get in your feels after this announcement. Especially since it didn't really happen on Carr's preferred timeline.
He was always involved in the community and never took heat for being a bad teammate. With Carr out of the league, both the Raiders and Saints are approaching new dawns at quarterback. Las Vegas will introduce Geno Smith this season in Pete Carroll's first go-around as head coach. The Saints are expected to turn to second-round pick Tyler Shough, a 25-year-old out of Louisville.