A leak, a setback, and a sudden quarterback crisis in New Orleans

With less than two weeks to go before the 2025 NFL Draft, the news leak that New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr might be out for the upcoming season with a shoulder injury could not have come at a worse time.

Derek Carr news leak puts Saints in a Draft-day bind

The Saints were already likely to draft a quarterback at the No. 9 position in the first round and they were in a good place to snag Colorado Buffaloes Shedeur Sanders. They would presumably develop him under Carr at least throughout the 2025 season.

But now, they’ve gone from wanting a quarterback for the future to needing a quarterback desperately right away, and that changes everything. Now all the other teams know the Saints need a quarterback, so they’ve definitely lost some of their draft leverage if they want to move up. Betting odds reflected this shift, with the Saints’ likelihood of drafting a quarterback moving up significantly after the leak.

Whether they draft Sanders or Jaxson Dart or Jalen Milroe, starting any of those rookies in Week 1 is not ideal for rookie head coach Kellen Moore’s offense. The Saints’ other option without Carr would be to start Spencer Rattler or Jake Haener for the year while they develop a rookie behind them, which is also not ideal but may be the lesser of two evils for the Saints.

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