Derek Carr still isn’t officially ruled out against the Packers on Monday Night Football, but it’s all a charade by the Saints.

The New Orleans Saints made an investment in Derek Carr in the 2023 offseason to the tune of a four-year, $150 million contract with $100 of that guaranteed.

Carr had never been a superstar in his career, but he’s always been a well-above average quarterback who could make big-time plays with good talent around him.

Would that have made Carr the Saints’ “franchise quarterback”? At that point in his career, not necessarily. That’s a term usually reserved for young superstars like Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen. Those quarterbacks will likely never play for any other franchise other than their own outside of a late-career change like a Tom Brady (which was extremely successful) or Aaron Rodgers (which has been not as successful).

The Saints signed Carr to be a playoff-level quarterback who could help them get back to the mountaintop if all the pieces fell together right, though.

That’s not a franchise quarterback, but Carr is a highly-respected veteran within the NFL’s quarterback hierarchy and he’s an important part of the Saints’ franchise in the here and now.

In 2023, his first year in New Orleans, the Saints were 9-8 and missed the playoffs. Carr threw for 3,878 yards and 25 touchdowns with just eight interceptions, meaning it was one of the better seasons of his career.

It was certainly a step up from New Orleans’ 2022 season, which saw the Saints go 7-10 with Andy Dalton as the team’s top passer.

The Saints were supposed to be moving in a positive direction in Carr’s second year in New Orleans, but 2024 has been an unmitigated disaster for all involved.

They started off 2-0 with dominant wins over the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys, but then proceeded to go on a seven-game losing streak that got head coach Dennis Allen fired.

Carr has been middling, at best, this season, but he’s also been banged up. His latest injury (a fracture in his non-throwing hand as well as a concussion) kept him out of the Saints’ Week 15 game against the Washington Commanders, and Spencer Rattler is slated to be the starter in Week 16 against the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football if Carr is once again ruled out.

Frankly, he should be, so why are we still playing this game?

The Saints are 5-9 and ESPN’s NFL Football Power Index gives them zero shot to make the playoffs in 2024.

There’s nothing to play for at this point, and even if Carr wants to come back and he’s trying to come back in time for this Monday Night Football clash with the Packers…the Saints should highly consider just sitting him for the rest of this season if they plan on him being their quarterback in 2025.

Oddly enough, though, interim head coach Darren Rizzi does not at all sound intent on ruling Carr out as he looks to come back from the left hand fracture, per Katherine Terrell of ESPN.

“If he was done for the season, we would’ve put him on IR by now and we would’ve shut him down. It’s just not the case,” Rizzi said. “He’s working his tail off every day. He’s frustrated by some of the reports. Quite frankly, we’ve had multiple conversations about it and he’s in here every day. He had one of his best days today, so as soon as he’s able to function and as soon as he’s able to go out there and get some functionality back in his hand, we’ll do that.”

Saints have to shut down Derek Carr for season

It’s worth noting that the Monday Night Football-ness of this week’s game will give Carr an additional day of rest, so he certainly could come back to play against the Packers if all parties involved felt he was ready.

It doesn’t make any sense to keep this charade up, though. If the Saints were in the middle of a playoff hunt? Sure, it would make sense to exhaust every option to get Carr back on the field.

Heck, if they were even mildly on the bubble, it may still be worth the risk he would incur against a Packers defense that has been playing strong football as of late and is coming off a seven sack performance against the Seattle Seahawks that knocked starter Geno Smith out of the game with a knee injury.

It just isn’t worth it for the Saints to put Carr in harms way if a likely loss is coming whether he or Rattler is playing against the Pack.

Keep in mind, star running back Alvin Kamara might be out for the season himself, so there’s just not much to gain here if you’re Carr or the Saints.

If Carr is New Orleans’ plan for 2025, it makes no sense to keep him from starting a full offseason rehab program immediately.

Even if he’s not, though, and they’re able to get out of his contract, sending out a respected veteran to get beat up on national television is not the way you attract free agents in the future.

There are egos on the line, sure, but the smart move is for the Saints to officially shut Carr down. If they can’t let go of that charade just yet, in no way should he play on Monday Night Football.