The timing of the news leak that Derek Carr might be out for the 2025 season with a shoulder injury wasn't ideal for the New Orleans Saints.
Now everybody knows getting a quarterback in the NFL Draft went from a possibility for the Saints to practically a necessity.
The Saints were in a pretty good place to draft a quarterback, presumably Shedeur Sanders, in the NFL Draft. The fit seemed good from both sides. Using the ninth pick of the NFL Draft on Sanders didn't seem exorbitant. It seemed smart, taking a quarterback to develop for the future while Carr at least started the 2025 season as the QB1.
The Carr news changes the urgency. Waiting on quarterback, either for the later rounds or until next year, doesn't seem like an option anymore.
Saints have a bigger need at QB
The betting odds on the NFL Draft at BetMGM aren't always predictive but they can be instructive.
Earlier this week, the prop on which position the Saints would draft first was led by quarterback at +300 odds (bet $100 to win $300). Then the Carr news came down. On Friday afternoon, the odds of the Saints drafting a quarterback first had moved to -105. Next on the list was cornerback at fairly long +625 odds.
Everyone knows the Saints don't just want a quarterback. They probably can't afford to exit the first day of the draft without one. Since the Carr news got out before the draft, now all other teams know that too. Teams sitting ahead of the Saints in the draft have more trade leverage if New Orleans wants to move up. If there are teams behind the Saints at No. 9 looking at Sanders or Jaxson Dart, they know the Saints are very likely to be looking at taking a quarterback at No. 9 or earlier if they do move up.
It's not like anyone still thought Carr was the long-term quarterback for the Saints. But now he might not be the short term answer either. That presumably puts the Saints' draft plan into focus.
What will the Saints do?
If the Saints do draft Sanders, Dart or another quarterback prospect like Jalen Milroe, the situation isn't as great as it seemed before the news of the Carr injury.
Other than Cam Ward, there doesn't seem to be a quarterback in this class whose best path to success was starting from Week 1 on. Having one of those rookies sit for a year behind a veteran liked Carr seemed like a better plan. That might not be feasible in New Orleans anymore, if Carr is out for the 2025 season due to surgery.
If the Saints draft Sanders and do want him to sit, Spencer Rattler or Jake Haener could fill the gap for a year. It's far from ideal and probably won't lead to much success in 2025, but it would allow the Saints to bring along Sanders slowly. It just might not be pretty along the way.
In short, things became messier for the Saints due to Carr's injury. They have the ninth pick but can't be sure the quarterback they want will be there, if there is a quarterback they do want in the first round. They might feel more pressure to draft a first-round quarterback even if they're not totally sold on him. The rest of the NFL knows that now, which hurts the Saints' leverage. And if the Saints do draft a quarterback, having him sit and learn for a year might not be a viable option. First-year coach Kellen Moore can't be feeling great about any of that.
Before Friday, the betting favorite to land Sanders was the Saints. That possibility seemed to become a lot stronger after we found out that the Saints might not have many other quarterback options for 2025.
