Derek Carr ran out of gas.
Carr, 34, announced Saturday that he is retiring from the NFL rather than undergoing shoulder surgery —to repair a labral tear and damage to his rotator cuff — that likely would have ruled him out for the season.
He came to the surprising decision after “prayer and in discussion” with his wife.
“For more than 11 years, we have been incredibly blessed, and we are forever grateful and humbled by this experience,” Carr said in a statement.
“It’s difficult to find the right words to express our thanks to all the teammates, coaches, management, ownership, team officials and especially the fans who made this journey so special. Your unwavering support has meant the world to us,” Carr said.
Carr, a second-round draft pick in 2014, spent nine of his 11 seasons with the Raiders and made four Pro Bowls.
He only played in one playoff game but earned $195.6 million as the No. 16 highest-paid player in NFL history, according to Spotrac.com.
The Josh McDaniels-coached Raiders decided to move on from Carr — much to his friend Davante Adams’ dismay — and he chose the Saints after flirting with the Aaron Rodgers-hunting Jets and others in 2023 free agency.
Carr went 77-92 in his career, including 14-13 with the Saints.
“In late March, while ramping up his preparation for the 2025 season, Derek experienced pain in his right shoulder,” the Saints said in a statement. “It was his first time throwing a football at significant volume since recovering from both a concussion and left-hand injury sustained during play on Dec. 8, 2024.
“Derek immediately contacted the Saints medical team. Eventually, medical scans determined objectively that Derek sustained a labral tear and also had significant degenerative changes to his rotator cuff.”
The Saints have selected mid-round quarterbacks in three straight drafts, including second-rounder Tyler Shough last month.
Shough was the first quarterback taken by the Saints in the first or second round since Archie Manning in 1971.
Jake Haener, a 2023 fourth-rounder, and Spencer Rattler, a 2024 fifth-rounder, also could be part of a quarterback compeтιтion with Shough.
They are all under cost-controlled rookie contracts.
Some NFL personnel considered Shough — a 25-year-old Louisville product who had three season-ending injuries during a seven-year college career — to be the Week 1-ready option in the 2025 draft class.
And some teams had him ranked as the No. 1 quarterback on their board ahead of No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward (тιтans) and fellow first-round pick Jaxson Dart (Giants), according to ESPN.
The final play of Carr’s career winds up being a 9-yard run against the Giants, when he tried to leap over tacklers Adoree’ Jackson and Dane Belton for a first down and crashed hard on the turf.
He missed the final four games of the season.
“Surgery was an option, jeopardizing the entire 2025 season,” the Saints said, “yet there was no guarantee Derek would return to the level of strength, function and performance of play to which he was accustomed.”
Carr, whose retirement will be filed with the league after June 1, will keep his $10 million roster bonus earned in March but forfeit his $30 million salary in 2025, according to NFL Network.
The Saints are left with ᴅᴇᴀᴅ salary-cap charges of $13.2 million in 2025 and $35.6 million in 2026, per Spotrac.
