NFL
Retired Quarterback Derek Carr’s Return Hype Falls Flat With NFL Decision-Makers
Despite media speculation, NFL teams show little interest in retired quarterback Derek Carr coming out of retirement. With most executives uninterested due to his poor performance with the Saints and significant time away from the game, Carr's return seems unlikely for the 2026 season.
New Orleans Saints v Green Bay Packers by Stacy Revere | Getty Images
Although sections of the media continue to suggest that NFL teams would welcome a comeback from retired quarterback Derek Carr, it’s far harder to find any front-office executives who share that enthusiasm for a return.
Carr, whose tenure with the Saints was mostly dreadful with him signing a lucrative contract that team officials quickly regretted, has been threatening to come out of retirement to play for a contending team.
New Orleans retains his rights and conversations with multiple teams actually in the market for quarterback upgrades revealed no appetite for the veteran even despite this college draft being very short on quarterback options and despite the free-agent class being barren as well.
Who Is Pining For Carr’s Return?
Carr, 34, is coming off a year out of football and, at the time the Saints signing him to his last deal, outside interest in him was already waning.
He walked away from the game due to a significant shoulder injury and would be seen by other NFL has a back-up option, if that, from what I gather.
“I think you guys (in the media) are talking more about this than us,” said one NFL general manager who is actively seeking quarterback help. “The Saints don’t have a market for him. That’s a really bad contract. He’s going to stay retired.”
An agent for a top free agent quarterback said he does not view Carr as competition for his client’s services and in general there has been skepticism within the football world about Carr playing anywhere in 2026.
Another NFL executive said, if he was going to experiment on a veteran quarterback who had been out of the game for a significant period of time he’d prefer to take a shot on Ryan Tannehill, especially if he was looking for someone to have to play more than just a week or two, like how Philip Rivers came out of retirement late last season to play a few games for the Colts.
La Canfora has covered over 20 Super Bowls and League Meetings and NFL drafts, building a wide network of sources throughout all aspects of the game. He was an award winning print journalist as well, working at The Detroit Free Press and The Baltimore Sun prior to his first stint at The Washington Post. He has covered sporting events around the world, including two Winter Olympics and all of the 2006 World Cup. He attended his first NFL game in 1978, and would soon kindle what has become a lifelong love and appreciation of the sport. La Canfora is also a professional handicapper, specializing in the NFL, creating a daily sports wagering game show - "Wanna Bet?" He also hosts nationally broadcast NFL radio shows in the US, as well as a daily sports radio show in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.