Derek Carr is reportedly considering coming out of retirement, but only if he can sign with a team with Super Bowl potential. It's fair to read the previous statement and laugh, because A. Carr doesn't have a track record of playoff success that suggests he can be a Super Bowl-winning quarterback and B. teams with Super Bowl potential usually already have a quarterback in place.
But we just saw Sam Darnold go from afterthought to Super Bowl champion over the course of two seasons, suggesting that anything is theoretically possible. Now, I'm not saying that Carr can come back after a year off and immediately win a Super Bowl, but he wasn't that bad in 2024 with the New Orleans Saints, and there are definitely situations where he could lead a playoff run. Once you're in the postseason, it just takes a few good games to find yourself hoisting the Lombardi.
Minnesota Vikings
If Derek Carr wants to win a title, this is by far the best possible spot for him to land. It just relies on the Minnesota Vikings giving up on quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Or not even "giving up" on him, but making a conscious effort to step back from him and see if a year on the bench can help get him to a level where he can still be the team's quarterback of the future. There's a reason that Minnesota appears on basically every list of destinations for available quarterbacks.
Signing in Minnesota would give Carr something he sorely lacked for much of his career: a truly elite No. 1 receiver. Yes, he had stints with Amari Cooper, Davante Adams and Chris Olave, but Justin Jefferson is in the conversation for No. 1 receiver in the league in a way those guys weren't at the time.
This is a team that managed to still win nine games in 2025, with Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer combining to make seven starts. Carr, even after a year off, is better than those guys, and he probably lacks the turnover issues of McCarthy. Carr has six seasons with an interception rate lower than two percent, while McCarthy's one year as a starter saw him throw picks on 4.9 percent of his attempts.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers made the playoffs in 2025 with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback and it seems they're prepared to try to do so again in 2026, but what if the team opted to shut the door on Rodgers and instead brought in Carr?
Completion Percentage | Touchdown Rate | Interception Rate | QB Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Rodgers (2025) | 65.7 | 4.8 | 1.4 | 94.8 |
Carr (2024) | 67.7 | 5.4 | 1.8 | 101.0 |
Factor in that Carr is significantly younger and thus less likely to hit a complete wall in 2026, and it makes at least some sense, right?
The Steelers hiring Mike McCarthy to be the team's head coach suggests that this team believes it is in win now mode. Signing Carr would be in line with that goal, even if Steelers fans might look at it as just a continuation of the failed quarterback search from the Mike Tomlin era.
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts will likely re-sign Daniel Jones and hope that he's back early in the 2026 season after tearing his Achilles in 2025, but there are a few complicating factors here. First is how fast Jones is ready to get back on the field, as Achilles tears can take a while to heal. While we've seen players return from this particular injury faster in recent years, don't simply assume that Jones will be able to do the same.
Second is that Jones is a free agent. The Colts should try to bring him back, but you never know for sure how these plans will work out. What if another team looks at what Jones did in 2025 and offers him a deal big enough to tempt him to leave Indianapolis? What if the Colts decide that's too rich for them and they need to pivot instead?
Ideally, Jones will quarterback Indianapolis in 2026, but if plans change, Carr is a better option than anyone else the team could realistically bring in. He'd definitely be an upgrade over 44-year-old Philip Rivers.
Atlanta Falcons
Would the Saints trade Carr to a division rival? Ehh, maybe not, so this one isn't super realistic. However, it would be a very good landing spot for Carr, as the Atlanta Falcons feel like a team that's a quarterback away from winning the NFC South.
Michael Penix Jr. probably isn't that guy. He was 3-6 as the Falcons' starter last season, while Kirk Cousins was 5-3. Penix just barely snuck over 60 percent in completion percentage, though he did have the lowest interception rate in the NFL.
The Falcons have a potentially scary offense, especially if they bring back tight end Kyle Pitts, who seemed to finally have the breakout showing that we'd been waiting for. Running back Bijan Robinson is an elite weapon while Drake London is a very good wideout. Sure, the team could use a solid No. 2 wide receiver, but the core is there. That core just lacks a reliable quarterback.
Houston Texans
Alright, this one is coming out of left field. The Houston Texans have a quarterback!, you might be saying right now, and that's true! They have C.J. Stroud, who has shown glimpses of being very good. He also happens to be the reason the Texans weren't in the Super Bowl this past season, as his four-interception meltdown against the Patriots in the Divisional Round ended Houston's playoff run.
The Texans will almost certainly let Stroud play out the 2026 season, see how he does and then make a decision after that about his future. I'm not neccessarily going to argue against that idea. This is a team that looks like it can have a fairly long window if it gets things right, and trading away a young quarterback in Stroud to replace him with a veteran who'll be around for one or maybe two years seems counterintuitive to building long-term success.
But Houston's also lucked into a perfect situation with its defense. Will Anderson will need a massive pay raise soon, and that's going to cut into what Houston's able to do with roster flexibility. If the Texans want to win with this elite defense, the window is basically now. So it's fair to at least consider moving Stroud — there's bound to be a team willing to give up at least one, if not two, first-round picks in hopes they can fix him — and signing Carr to a short deal. The assets acquired in the trade could strengthen the rest of the roster even more, and Carr could step into a perfect situation. All he'd have to do would be to minimize mistakes and ride behind a defense that will help give him good field position.