Why the Saints Need to Part Ways with Their Four-Time Pro Bowl Quarterback
January 17th, 2021 – a sad historical day for the New Orleans Saints during which, aside from ending their NFL season, were stopped in their advance toward the Super Bowl in the NFC Divisional Round by a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and last time they have made it to the playoffs. For the fans, it was especially difficult because that Sunday also marked the final time quarterback Drew Brees would walk off of the field from the then-named Mercedes-Benz Superdome at the conclusion of a game with the event being unceremonious due to the limited attendance caused by the COVID Pandemic. The speculation for months throughout the league had been that Brees would retire at the conclusion of the season after ending his Hall-of-Fame-worthy career and that Taysom Hill, who had joined the team in 2017 played alongside Drew, would be his successor to lead the team. However, that responsibility went to Jameis Winston for the 2021 season, Andy Dalton in 2022, and Derek Carr who joined in 2023 and is the team’s current quarterback.
Mr. Derek Carr’s involvement with the Saints began with being signed to a four-year, $150 million deal in the 2023 offseason. He had previously been the quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders ending their 2022 season with a 60.8% completion rate, 24 passing touchdowns, and 3522 yards gained by passing in the 15 games he had played. These are impressive numbers which the Saints noticed and brought him onto the team. Perhaps this was the kind of talent that would surpass their 2021 season of nine wins and eight losses and 2022 season of seven wins and 10 losses – all seasons resulting in their failure to make it to the playoffs. The team needed a proven quarterback who could give them the yards and deliver the completed passes to put enough touchdowns on the board to result in a victory over their opponent. This would be a huge responsibility for Carr who, throughout his nine seasons on the Raiders, was accustomed to leading an entire team on the field.
As quarterback for the Saints in the 2023 season, their season ended with nine wins and eight losses with Carr’s completion rate of 68.4% completion rate, 25 passing touchdowns, and 3878 yards gained by passing in the 17 games played - all numbers being higher than his previous season. After spending a season becoming accustomed to the dynamics and style of the team, there was a lot of anticipation for Carr in 2024 in taking the team all the way to the playoffs. However, their recent season ended with a disappointing five wins and 12 losses even with Carr’s stats of a 67.7% completion rate, 15 passing touchdowns, and 2145 yards gained by passing in the 10 games played, these amount to the result after a Week 14 season-ending injury. It wasn’t enough to salvage any form of a good season for the team which again has put the Saints in another precarious situation before September.
Almost all Saints fans will agree that whenever you watched Drew Brees on the field, there was a “cohesiveness” among the players. Brees and coach Sean Payton had an incredible method of handling the team by treating each game as a backyard scrimmage. However, after Brees’s and later Payton’s departure, the team has lost that “fun” way of playing every game, and the fans have noticed. Carr appears to take every play seriously which, although is his approach, doesn’t fit that of the other Saints players. Yes, his stats are good compared to his predecessors but that doesn’t mean anything when the team is used to competing a certain way which proved to work well enough to get them to the playoffs and even a Super Bowl win. Carr doesn’t appear to share this and is unwilling to integrate it into his strategy on the field. If the Saints are concerned about their future, they need to find a quarterback who embodies the “Who Dat” spirit of the team and I will again suggest that they need to utilize Taysom Hill in that position, both as quarterback and “spirit” of the New Orleans Saints.
