Amid a quarterback crisis that saw starter Carson Wentz manage only eight completions in 25 attempts against the Buffalo Bills Monday night, the Minnesota Vikings, despite earlier rumors, have not contacted the New Orleans Saints about retired quarterback Derek Carr, according to Pro Football Talk‘s Mike Florio.
With starter Kyler Murray sidelined and the deadline arriving at 4 p.m. ET Tuesday, the silence raises a question about what the Vikings are willing to do to repair their quarterback situation.
Carr remains on the Saints’ reserve/retired list, so any club that wants him must negotiate a trade with New Orleans. That tracks with Florio’s earlier reporting that the Saints had still gotten no inquiries through the first week of free agency in March.
Derek Carr’s Career and Why He Left the New Orleans Saints
Carr, born March 28, 1991, in Fresno, California, is 35 years old. He set 27 school records at Fresno State, throwing for 12,842 yards and 113 touchdowns, before the Oakland Raiders drafted him 36th overall in 2014.
Over nine seasons with the Raiders, he became the franchise leader in passing yards (35,222) and touchdowns (217) and made the Pro Bowl four times. His career line stands at 77-92 as a starter, with 41,245 yards, 257 touchdowns and 112 interceptions.
The Saints signed him to a four-year, $150 million deal in 2023, and Carr went 14-13 as a starter over two seasons. In 2024, a fractured left hand, a concussion and an oblique strain held him to 10 games.
Then came the shoulder. Carr felt pain in late March 2025 while building his throwing back up, and scans revealed a labral tear along with significant rotator cuff degeneration. Carr retired in May 2025 rather than undergo surgery that would have swallowed the season with no promise of a return to form. He walked away from roughly $30 million in guaranteed salary, saying he refused to “just take the Saints money.”
So did he officially retire? Yes. Is it final? Not quite. The Saints still hold his rights, because they placed him on the reserve/retired list instead of releasing him, and he sat out all of 2025.
Carr raised a comeback on his Home Grown with David & Derek Carr podcast.
“Would I do it? Yes. Would I do it for anybody? Absolutely not,” Carr said in February, according to NFL.com. He added that he would need to be healthy and want a Super Bowl shot, and his brother David’s “purple and gold” remark fueled Vikings talk.
By July, his tone had cooled. He told Good Morning Football it would take a “special situation” to bring him back, and that multiple teams had gauged his interest without being named.
Minnesota Vikings’ Quarterback Problems and a Derek Carr Trade
The Vikings signed Murray to a one-year deal, and he beat out J.J. McCarthy, the 2024 first-round pick, for the job. Minnesota then sent McCarthy to the Giants in late September for a 2027 fifth-round pick.
Murray has completed 64.9% of his passes for 1,022 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions in six starts. He strained his hamstring in the Nov. 1 loss at Detroit, and the Grade 2 injury has him week-to-week.
Backup Carson Wentz stepped in Monday night and finished 8-of-25 for 81 yards with two interceptions and a lost fumble in a 23-6 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Wentz’s 8.9 passer rating for the game was lowest since 2019 for any NFL starting QB, since Sam Darnold, then of the New York Jets, posted a 3.6 rating in a game against the New England Patriots.
Minnesota sits at 6-2 on the strength of its defense, with only 11 offensive touchdowns through eight games. The Vikings began calling other clubs about quarterbacks after the Bills game, according to ESPN, and reports have linked Minnesota to Kirk Cousins and Daniel Jones, though the Colts have told Jones they do not plan to trade him.
ESPN’s Katherine Terrell has said Carr could net a third- to fifth-round pick. A Minnesota offer would center on the Saints’ fifth-rounder, the low end of that range, paired with a reworked contract for a quarterback expected to seek one.
Vikings Trade Link to 4-Time Pro Bowl Quarterback Shot Down by NFL Insider