Top Seven Veteran Quarterback Best Option that the New Orleans Saint may Sign After Derek Carr Injury
Top Seven Veteran Quarterback Best Option that the New Orleans Saint may Sign After Derek Carr Injury
Certainly not ideal options, but New Orleans could target one of these available veteran quarterbacks as a backup or spot-starter in wake of Derek Carr’s injury.
Friday’s news that New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr could miss most or all of the 2025-26 season with a shoulder injury has put an interesting twist into the team’s offseason.
Carr, 34, was unlikely to be with the Saints beyond this coming season. However, after a contract restructure, he was almost a sure bet to be the team’s starter for this year. At least he was, before Friday reports that an injured throwing shoulder may sideline him for the season.
Because of that news, New Orleans is a heavy favorite to select a quarterback in either the first or second round of the NFL Draft. If so, it would be the first time since Archie Manning in 1971 and only the second time in the Saints 58-year history that they’ve done so.
New Orleans also has Spencer Rattler, a fifth-round choice in the 2024 NFL Draft out of South Carolina. He has an excellent arm, solid mobility, and some intriguing athletic traits but struggles to read defenses.
Rattler played in seven games last season because of injuries to Carr. In those contests, he completed 57% of his throws for 1,317 yards with 4 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, and 22 sacks. While his play was uneven, at very best, he also had to do it with an injury-decimated offensive line, no backfield depth, and without his top three wide receivers.
If the Saints elect to roll with Rattler and not draft a quarterback, they may instead look to bring in a veteran with some starting experience. This wouldn’t necessarily be to start the year, but instead to provide some insurance and stability at the position.
The choices aren’t ideal, to say the least, but here are the most logical free-agent quarterbacks still available.
Bridgewater technically retired after the 2023-24 season. After coaching a championship high school football team in the fall, he returned to the Detroit Lions as a backup for their short-lived playoff run.
Following Detroit’s loss in the Divisional Round, Bridgewater never publicly stated whether he planned to re-retire or keep playing. An 11-year NFL veteran, he’s started games with five different teams
A first-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft and one-time Pro Bowler with the Minnesota Vikings, Bridgewater managed to revive his career following a catastrophic knee injury in 2016. After a preseason stint with the Jets in 2018, he was traded to the New Orleans Saints.
Bridgewater was with the Saints for two seasons as a backup and started five games for an injured Drew Brees in 2019. He went 5-0 in those starts, completing 67.9% of his throws for 1,384 yards with 9 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
Since leaving New Orleans, Bridgewater started one year each for the Panthers and Broncos before being a backup for the Dolphins, then Lions, for the last three years. Bridgewater has a career completion percentage of 66.4%, throwing for 15,120 yards with 75 touchdowns and 47 interceptions.
While technically not retired, Tannehill didn’t play last year following his release from the Tennessee Titans after the 2023-24 season. He played five years for the Titans, going 39-24 as a starter and taking Tennessee to the playoffs three times with two division championships.
Prior to Tennessee, Tannehill played his first six seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He was a first-round choice, eighth overall, in the 2012 NFL Draft out of Texas A&M. During his time with Miami, he was 42-46 as a starter with one playoff appearance.
In 11 NFL seasons, Tannehill has a 64.3% completion percentage with 34,881 yards and 216 touchdowns with 115 interceptions. He’s made one Pro Bowl, in 2019, and has taken four teams into the postseason as a starter.
Wentz was the second overall choice in the 2016 NFL Draft out of North Dakota State by the Philadelphia Eagles. He was an immediate starter as a rookie, guiding his team to a 7-9 record.
In 2017, Wentz was actually in the league MVP conversation as the Eagles sprinted to an 11-2 start. He had a 60% completion percentage in those games, averaging 254 passing yards per game with 33 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions. A broken ankle sidelined Wentz for the stretch run, as Nick Foles guided Philadelphia through the playoffs and a Super Bowl LII title.
Wentz returned as Philadelphia’s starter in 2018 but was slowed by ineffectiveness and more injuries. He actually averaged more passing yards (279.5) in his 11 starts, but had just a 5-6 record despite 21 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.
Wentz remained in Philadelphia until 2020, but never regained his 2017 effectiveness. He was benched as the starter in 2020 and traded the following offseason to the Indianapolis Colts. He’d be with the Colts only one year, throwing 27 touchdowns and 7 interceptions while throwing for 3,563 yards but going only 9-8 as a starter.
For the last three years, Wentz has been a backup for Washington, the Rams, and Kansas City. He has a career completion percentage of 62.7% with 22,410 yards with 153 touchdowns and 67 interceptions.
An undrafted rookie out of Utah in 2020, Huntley spent his first four NFL seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. He was a backup to Lamar Jackson, but still started nine contests plus a playoff game because of injury.
Huntley wound up with the Miami Dolphins last year. He’d start five games because of injuries to starter Tua Tagovailoa. In 15 career starts, Huntley has a 5-10 record.
Huntley has a 64.6% career completion percentage. He’s thrown for 3,072 yards with 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Originally, Beathard was a third-round choice in the 2017 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers out of Iowa. He’d spend his first four seasons there as backup to Jimmy Garoppolo, starting 12 games as an injury replacement.
Beathard went 2-10 as a 49ers starter. He’d complete 58.6% of his passes while with the team, throwing for 3,469 yards with 18 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Beathard signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars during the 2021 offseason as a free agent.
For the last four seasons, Beathard has seen little action as backup to Trevor Lawrence. He’d see his most action in 2023, starting one contest and seeing several snaps in two others. In those outings, he’d throw for 349 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions with one win.
Succeeding Carson Wentz as the starter at North Dakota State, Stick would eventually be a fifth-round choice in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Chargers. He’s been with the Chargers for all six of his NFL seasons.
Backing up Justin Herbert, Stick has only seen action in six regular season games. One of them was during the 2020 season, when he attempted one pass. The others were the last five games of the 2023 season when he took over for an injured Herbert.
Interestingly, those games in 2023 was when Saints head coach Kellen Moore was the offensive coordinator for the Chargers. Stick completed 63.8% of his throws for 1,129 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. The Chargers lost all five games, scoring an average of 14.2 points.
As far as available free agents, these are the choices folks. No, Aaron Rodgers should not be a realistic option if Kellen Moore and the Saints possess an ounce of sanity. Along with Rodgers comes a narcissistic soap opera and a shadow of the player he used to be with likely demands of a guaranteed starting role. Good luck with whatever team (Pittsburgh) gets that mess.
Another scenario could be a trade for a veteran. If the New York Giants draft a quarterback high, they may look to part with newly signed veterans Russell Wilson or former Saint Jameis Winston. The Cleveland Browns could be in the same predicament if they use a high pick on a quarterback and may possibly move Kenny Pickett or Joe Flacco.
Again, all of these scenarios are less than ideal. If the Saints look to sign or especially trade for any of these listed names, it will probably only be as veteran insurance or competition to Spencer Rattler if they do not draft a quarterback in the first two days.