Quarterback Derek Carr's abrupt retirement on Saturday leaves the New Orleans Saints in a terrible spot at the position. Carr was in the second year of a four-year contract, and there are no other veterans on the current roster.
As such, New Orleans joins a growing list of teams with starting quarterback questions across the league. Where can they turn? Who will they pick? Here are some predictions for who will open the 2025 season as the starting quarterback for a few of those teams.
New Orleans Saints: Tyler Shough
We'll start with the team most affected by Carr's retirement. The key phrase here is, "If they can afford it." If they can afford it, making a trade with division rival Atlanta for displaced veteran Kirk Cousins makes sense. Becoming a late player in the Aaron Rodgers sweepstakes also makes sense if they can afford it.
Unfortunately for Saints fans, the team would have to do some restructuring and cap maneuvering to afford either option, even with the estimated breaks coming from Carr's retirement. Cousins's current cap hit (roughly $40 million) is still more than the cap space the Saints have, so Atlanta would need to retain some of his salary. Rodgers would probably have a similar cap hit, based on projections.
That leaves the Saints with Spencer Rattler, Jake Haener, and Shough. We've seen Rattler and Haener in spurts, and neither has looked like a long-term answer under center. The team liked Shough enough to make him a second-round pick, and while throwing him into the fire is risky, he brings the most upside of the three with his superior arm strength and above-average athleticism.
He's likely the best choice given the situation and lack of resources. It may also make sense to take a flyer on a former starter like Carson Wentz. That's a more affordable option with low risk because of the low expectations that would come with it. It would essentially be a one-year placeholder.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Aaron Rodgers
This has been dragging on all offseason, but the Steelers are an obvious choice. They need Rodgers more than he needs them. The Steelers' quarterback room is comprised of two career backups (Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson) and a day-three rookie (Will Howard). There is no way Pittsburgh wants to open its season with that group, especially given Mike Tomlin's track record as head coach. He will not want to put that reputation at risk.
The Rodgers sweepstakes has mainly involved two teams: Pittsburgh and the New York Giants. Reports indicate that Rodgers wants to make a decision on his timeline. The Giants showed they weren't willing to wait by signing Russell Wilson, yet Pittsburgh has remained patient in the process.
He could make a surprise move and join a team with an up-and-coming rookie like Tennessee, but a match between the Steelers and Aaron Rodgers makes the most sense.
New York Giants: Russell Wilson
Speaking of the Giants, it would be shocking if Wilson wasn't their day-one starter. Yes, they drafted a promising rookie in Jaxson Dart, but once you move to Plan B, it's not a good look to move away from it so quickly.
Wilson is not the Super Bowl-winning, game-changing player he was in Seattle. That was proven in Denver and Pittsburgh. However, he also proved he can still be a solid NFL starter by helping Pittsburgh make another postseason last year.
It's not a perfect situation for impatient New York fans who want to compete, but the Giants are not going to be an elite NFL team this year anyway. It's clear they see Dart as a potential franchise quarterback. Wilson is on a one-year contract, and having someone with starting experience who can simultaneously be a guiding resource for the rookie can be beneficial to his career.
Plus, Wilson might not be the starter the entire season. The Giants took a similar approach when signing Kurt Warner before Eli Manning's rookie year. Warner was eventually benched, and Manning spent the next 16 years as the starter.
Cleveland Browns: Deshaun Watson
Plenty of eyes will be on the Cleveland Browns' battle throughout the offseason, especially after drafting both Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders a couple of weeks ago. Yet, this has the feeling of a team that isn't comfortable with what it has at the position, so the status quo may be the end result.
Watson hasn't been to Cleveland what he was to Houston. The Browns thought they were trading for a superstar who would solve their much-maligned problems at the position, but Watson has not been the game-breaker they had hoped they'd get. That's left this wide open.
With the three previously mentioned players and a 40-year-old Joe Flacco, there aren't many positives to take here. Cleveland is probably in a position to draft its next franchise quarterback next season. Flacco and Watson are the likely candidates to start the season opener in September, while Gabriel and Sanders may see time when the season hits rock bottom. Therefore, Watson is still the starter in 2025.
Tennessee Titans: Cam Ward
Putting a rookie out there with no experience, even when he is a little older than most in his draft class and was the first overall pick, is always a risk. But the Titans have no choice at this point. They've put resources into the position and come up empty.
Malik Willis is now the backup in Green Bay, and Will Levis has not displayed the ability to be a reliable starter. Things can change after a rookie year, but in an impatient era in pro sports and the NFL, the fans want to see more. Ward can give them that.
Not only is making the first overall pick the starter a way to rejuvenate the fanbase before even playing the game, but he has the big-play ability to make things exciting on the field. It won't be perfect. Fans will need to remember he's still a rookie and doesn't have as much around him as other successful rookies have had recently.
Still, Ward's dual-threat ability can be a breath of fresh air for an offense that has lacked the explosive dimension. Levis, Tim Boyle, and Brandon Allen don't have that same ability. It won't necessarily lead to more wins in Year 1, but Cam Ward is the obvious starting quarterback for the Tennessee Titans, barring some unforeseen move or circumstances.