Former Pro Bowl QB Derek Carr Won't Rule Out NFL Return After Recent Retirement

Carr surprised the NFL by stepping away in May as he worked through a shoulder injury.

Former Saints quarterback Derek Carr retired in May after weighing options around a shoulder injury. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Derek Carr stepped away from football in May, while dealing with a shoulder injury that may have required season-ending surgery and following a disappointing 5–12 season with the Saints (Carr went 5–5 as a starter, missing time due to injury).

For now, the 34-year-old Carr is retired, but he hasn't completely shut the door on a football comeback. Appearing on the Dan Patrick Show, Carr says he is still training (as part of his regular lifestyle), throwing occasionally and rehabbing his shoulder (9:15-mark in the video below).

“I wouldn’t say never because I’ve learned that when I say never, it usually happens,” Carr said. “I think we’ve all probably learned that. So, for me right now, I’m training because I love to train. That’s gonna be the rest of my life. I love to train. I throw a football every now and then out in the front with my kids and with my buddy for fun, because it’s part of my rehab still for my shoulder. I’m still just trying to get that back right from getting the shot and doing the rehab and all that. So I’m still doing those things. And so I always felt like, even though I’m done, you know, if God wanted me to do it, I’ve got to be ready. I don’t want to go out there and not be ready, you know. So I’ll be ready, but I’m not coming back. Like, right now, today, I’m not coming back.”

For now, Carr says he's focused on the current phase of his football journey—coaching two of his sons in fourth through sixth-grade football, which he says has led to him channeling his former coach, Jon Gruden.

Carr was a four-time Pro Bowler with the Raiders, earning the starting job as a rookie in 2014 and leading the franchise through the '22 season before being waived and signing with New Orleans in '23. He was 77–92 as starter and led Oakland/Las Vegas to a pair of playoff appearances.

He threw for 2,145 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions with the Saints in 2024.

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