Derek Carr and the New Orleans Saints are in agreement: The 34-year-old has a shoulder injury.

But so much else has been left unanswered, even with the parties recently addressing the situation.

Carr said at a Las Vegas church sermon that he has an MRI to prove the injury, ripping critics who expressed skepticism over the injury. Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said New Orleans was awaiting clarity on the situation, still unsure whether Carr can play next season. And the developments come amid the backdrop of the Saints’ drafting the quarterback’s potential successor: Louisville’s Tyler Shough.

Is everything fine between the Saints and Carr? Did he want a trade? Does he want out? The drama seems to get more bizarre by the day. And with so many updates, it can be hard to keep track of.

That’s why The Times-Picayune is here to provide an exhaustive timeline of everything that has happened from the moment that Carr suffered his season-ending broken hand last season — when this wild saga truly began.

Dec. 8, 2024: Carr exits after injuring his left, non-throwing hand and suffers a concussion when attempting to leap for the first down with four minutes left in a win over the New York Giants. He’s later diagnosed with a broken hand.

Dec. 9: Despite a report from the NFL Network that Carr suffered a “significant fracture” that was “almost certainly” season-ending, interim coach Darren Rizzi leaves the door open for the quarterback to return. The “reports out there were a little bit false,” Rizzi says.

Dec. 13-14: Carr enters the final step of the concussion protocol but is later listed as doubtful and then subsequently ruled out for New Orleans’ Dec. 15 showdown against the Washington Commanders.

Dec. 18-21: The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport doubles down on his original report, reporting it is “very unlikely” Carr returns, as he’s still weeks away from being able to withstand contact. A day later, Rizzi again disputes the report and said Carr is “frustrated” over the reporting. He said Carr is “working his tail off” to return from his hand injury. He is then ruled out prior to New Orleans’ Monday Night Football game against the Green Bay Packers.

Dec. 27-29: After Rizzi says Carr’s grip strength was gradually improving, the Saints still rule out the quarterback ahead of that weekend’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Carr’s former team. The quarterback was spotted without a cast that Sunday.

Dec. 30-Jan.3: Rizzi reveals that Carr had participated in a “simulated game” in the week prior to test his grip strength and functionality, with the goal for Carr to do so again before returning to practice sometime that week. But Carr never returns and is ruled out for the Week 18 season finale against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Jan. 6: Carr says he’s “fully confident” he’ll be back with the Saints next season, telling reporters he’s “absolutely” happy in New Orleans. “I love it here,” he said. Carr tells reporters he still needs to get healthy but expects to be cleared in the next few weeks.

In an interview with ESPN, Carr is adamant he would not take a paycut — “especially with what I put on tape,” he says. Carr says he would be open to a restructure but wouldn’t “take anything less” than the $40 million he is set to earn.

Feb. 13: At his introductory press conference, new coach Kellen Moore gives several noncommittal answers about whether Carr would be back with the team next season. He says he is excited to go through “this process” but demurs when asked if Carr would be the starter. 

Feb. 26: The Saints’ brass confirms they plan to stick with Carr in 2025, though they acknowledge they will address his contract in some way. “I feel like we’ve got a guy we can win with,” Loomis says. Moore says the Saints feels “fortunate” to have Carr, calling him a “big-time quarterback.”

March 8: The Saints do a simple restructure of Carr’s contract — a move that does not require the quarterback’s permission. The team converts all but the league minimum of Carr’s $30 million base salary, as well as his $10 million roster bonus, to clear up more than $30 million in salary cap space.

ESPN reports that before the transaction, Carr was open to testing the market, “possibly filling a void with a quarterback-needy team before free agency.”

March 10: Days after the Saints restructured Carr’s contract, Moore says he anticipated the quarterback being the team’s starter when he took the job. “We felt really comfortable with him,” Moore says, adding they have confidence about the “environment” they can create for Carr.

April 1: At the NFL owners’ meetings, Moore is asked whether Carr is bought in amid previous rumors that he was open to a trade. “Yeah, we’re excited to team up,” Moore says. The coach, who makes no mention of an injury, tells reporters that he expects to see Carr for the start of New Orleans’ offseason program on April 14.

April 11: News of Carr’s potentially season-ending shoulder injury breaks, three days before the start of the Saints’ offseason program. A source with knowledge of the situation tells the Times-Picayune that Carr’s injury stemmed from an old shoulder injury and did not occur against the New York Giants, something Carr’s brother David would later refute.

April 14: Carr does not attend the beginning of the voluntary portion of the Saints’ offseason program. The quarterback is among a handful of players to not show up. But that same day, Carr is featured in a video with his brother David on their YouTube channel in which they review a $500,000 Rolls-Royce Spectre.

Also that day, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini says on a podcast that people around the league are viewing Carr’s injury with skepticism and wonder if it is being used as “an excuse” after he wasn’t traded.

April 16: Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reports other teams were under the impression Carr wanted out from New Orleans and that Carr’s camp has told people that the injury stems from the 2023 season, when he suffered an AC sprain in Week 3 against the Green Bay Packers.

April 23: Loomis acknowledges Carr has a shoulder injury but refuses to elaborate on any other details about the situation. He says the Saints were hoping to get clarity on Carr “in the near future.”

April 24: David Carr, Derek’s brother and former quarterback, says on the NFL Network that the Saints starter believes he suffered the shoulder injury on the December play against the New York Giants — not in 2023. He says the Saints were aware of the injury from the “moment it happened” and confirms the quarterback is weighing whether to get surgery. “He’s trying to find the answers,” David Carr says.

“After the adrenaline wears off, you don’t really throw,” David says. “You don’t really throw a ball at game-level tempo after that, because he was trying to get back from that injury. So, by the time they were able to go throw the ball again, it was still there, the shoulder was still bothering him, so you start to go through, ‘What do we have to do to get it right?'”

Earlier that day, Breer had reported that Carr also sought a raise from the Saints earlier in the offseason and then a trade before the team restructured his contract.

April 26: After drafting Shough with the 40th overall pick, Loomis says he expects the Saints to have a quarterback competition next season — but only if Carr is unavailable. “Derek’s the starter if he’s healthy,” the general manager says, adding there was no update on Carr’s status.

April 28: Video circulates of Carr speaking publicly about the injury for the first time. During a Las Vegas church service, the quarterback accuses “people lying about me” and having to deal with “nonsense” over apparent skepticism of his shoulder injury. “You never know what someone is going through,” Carr says. “So why do we continually try to attack people? And I would say, maybe trying to attack people who I would say are doing things the right way.” Carr says he has an MRI to prove his shoulder injury, adding he and the Saints are “figuring it out.”

Carr also reveals that over the last few months, his wife had been having health problems that included a miscarriage. Carr said he and his wife didn’t know she was pregnant but had to rush her to the emergency room one day.

“I say all that to say: Let’s be a people that doesn’t judge, point out and think the worst when you don’t really know what people are going through,” Carr says.