Why Saints could move on from Derek Carr despite combine comments

In an article updated after Loomis and Moore spoke, ESPN's Seth Walder predicted that the Saints will ultimately replace Carr by signing current Pittsburgh Steelers backup Justin Fields.

"Carr is owed a fully guaranteed $10M roster bonus and a non-guaranteed $30M salary," Walder wrote. "The former is a sunk cost for the Saints, but the latter can and absolutely should be saved (by designating Carr as a post-June 1 release). ...Assuming New Orleans can avoid paying that $30M to Carr, it ought to embrace a full rebuild -- which means playing players with future upside. Fields and a rookie could make sense in that context. There's still a possibility Fields can kick his level of play up a notch, and, if not, a mid-round rookie can get some run. My only hesitation is that even Fields might be too expensive for the Saints, given how rough their salary cap situation is."

Specifically, Michael Baca of the NFL's website noted that the Saints are "projected to be nearly $60M over the 2025 cap and needing to reduce that number by the start of the new league year on March 12." New Orleans can receive some needed salary-cap relief by restructuring Carr's deal, but he made it quite clear earlier this winter he "wouldn't take a pay cut" to help out his current employer. 

As Walder suggested, there's no guarantee the Saints could land even an advertised mid-level option such as Fields in free agency. For starters, he reportedly "is the guy" the Steelers want as their QB1 for 2025. He can't officially speak with other clubs before the free-agent negotiating window opens on March 10, but the fact that he's been linked with the Saints, New York Giants, New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts could cause him to want to test the open market. 

Meanwhile, many within the NFL community are convinced Matthew Stafford will soon come to terms on a restructured deal to remain with the Los Angeles Rams for at least one more season. Such a scenario would make Stafford unavailable for teams such as the Giants, which theoretically could take Fields out of the running for the Saints. 

"New Orleans must stop doling out money and focus on a clean slate for 2027, as it likely will need multiple years to clear out its cap issues," Walder concluded. Whether or not New Orleans will embrace such a mindset by parting ways with Carr shall be seen.