Three months into his head coaching tenure, Kellen Moore was expecting tough questions. Just not like this. Sitting behind a mic in front of a room full of reporters, Moore had never coached Derek Carr, never even shared a handshake. Yet there he was, forced to field 23 questions in a single presser—most of them centered around a man who had just shockingly walked away from football. The official story? Carr’s right shoulder had finally given out. The Saints’ May 10 statement pinned the retirement on a torn labrum and “significant degenerative changes” in his rotator cuff. But few were buying that this was just about an injury.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Katherine Terrell reported that before the announcement, Carr’s camp was reportedly doing a little window shopping. Multiple teams were aware, some directly, others through whispers, that Carr might be open to a change of scenery. This, despite $40 million guaranteed in 2025 and zero written permission from the Saints to explore a move. According to those inside the building, Carr had grown disconnected: no real offseason presence, minimal communication with teammates, and coaching talks that leaned more “life catch-up” than “playbook deep dive.”
This is where the questions arise… and legitimate ones. In the latest episode of the 2 Pros and A Joe podcast, Jonas Knox didn’t buy the official narrative. He suggested that Carr’s decision wasn’t purely about health or being done with football: “So when it comes out that, well, he’s just ready to walk away and he doesn’t want to go through, I think, if he was in a better situation, maybe he would have looked at rehab. Maybe he would have looked at, you know, getting a surgery. None of it added up to me. Like, it just didn’t make sense.”
Sep 15, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr (4) reacts after a touchdown during the second half against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
But Knox wasn’t alone on this trail. Brady Quinn joined him in raising the eyebrows as well. The former NFL QB said, “None of that really made a lot of sense. Especially for the timing of when they announced that, ‘Hey, I’m going to step down,’ and all that.” There’s a reason he was not buying this whole retirement narrative because Carr’s just 34. And Brady might have a point here. You see across the league: Kirk Cousins, 36, is on $180 million deal for not even starting. Aaron Rodgers at 41 might get Last Dance in Steel City. So, retiring at 34, because of an injury, didn’t answer all of Brady’s questions.
“He’s 34, played some good football. If he does need a surgery, he now has time to get surgery, rehab, find another team. He’d be 35 [next year]. Teams are still willing to pay a lot of money for a guy that can go in and be serviceable as your starting quarterback, and he has no doubt been that when he’s been healthy, regardless of what critics may say. There’s a need for that. There’s a team who will do that,” Quinn said.
And that’s the crack in the Saints’ story. Not whether Carr’s injury was real or not. Most believe he was injured. But the sudden nature of the retirement, the absence of shoulder concerns throughout 2024, and the secretive offseason maneuvers hint at something deeper. Saints sources confirmed Carr had no shoulder problems in his exit physical. NFL Network’s April 11 report was the first time several coaches even heard about it. Even if so, it doesn’t explain why he was exploring trades weeks before that.
Maybe Kellen Moore had another plan all along
Now, if you’d ask the masses, they’d tell you that plan never involved Derek Carr. So, in comes a maybe theory from the legend Drew Brees, who is all in for a quarterback battle. You could almost hear him smiling as he said it: “Competitions bring out the best in everybody.”
But that’s just Brees being Brees. The man loves grit, underdog stories, and players who claw their way into the spotlight. It’s what built his career. Naturally, he’s intrigued by Tyler Shough. He sees the adversity, the long college road, the injuries, and maybe even a little Taysom Hill in the kid. But here’s the twist: Brees isn’t calling it. Not yet.
Meanwhile, Kellen Moore seems to be doing just that: at least in spirit. On the surface, he says it’s an open competition between Shough, Spencer Rattler, and Jake Haener. But let’s be real here: the sportsbooks are already reading his play sheet. Shough is a -300 favorite to start Week 1. Rattler’s at +200. Haener? He’s hanging way back at +3000. So unless something dramatic happens at camp, this QB1 race might already be tilting in one direction.
And can you blame Moore if it is? The Saints drafted Shough in the second round for a reason. Carr’s sudden retirement threw the depth chart into chaos, and Shough—at 25, with enough college snaps to make a Netflix series—offers the closest thing to experience in a room full of question marks. Rattler and Haener? They’re a combined 0-7 as NFL starters. That’s not a stat you want tattooed on your preseason optimism.
Still, Brees made a fair point: “I’m not giving anybody the job right now.” And neither is Moore, at least publicly. But let’s not ignore how this is shaping up. A three-man race? Maybe. But it’s starting to feel like Moore knew who his starter was the moment they turned in the draft card. The question isn’t whether Shough starts. It’s whether anyone else ever had a real shot.
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