By Ross Jackson

The expected return of retired New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr could be on the way. Not to New Orleans, of course, but the Saints could very well end up being the biggest benefactors if the 11-year passer does make his way back to the NFL. If he does, the Saints can be certain of a positive return because the team has full control over the situation.

The reason New Orleans is in the driver’s seat in this scenario is because Carr can’t simply come out of retirement because he wants to. The Saints would have to activate him from their Reserve/Retired list. 

That means that if there were going to be any negative impacts from the decision, they’d simply stand pat. Doing so would force Carr to sit out of the league for another year.

That’s why onlookers can rest assured that a reinstatement and trade of Carr won’t include restrictive changes in the salary cap but only manageable adjustments at most. Additionally, if there was a negative money impact, New Orleans does not have to be compliant with the 2026 salary cap (expected to be above $300 million) until the league year begins on March 11.

New Orleans won’t make any decisions around Carr that would bring harm upon the progress that the club has made in its salary cap situation. 

The Saints already recouped $30 million upon the quarterback’s retirement. With that done and settled, it won’t be reversed, nor will the Saints stumble upon another wellspring of cap relief.

The ball is well positioned in the Black and Gold’s court, no matter the result.

If Carr does make his return, it’s likely that the Saints would be among the biggest benefactors. They could see draft capital in return from any team that hopes to add the signal caller to their lineup. Depending on how Carr plays after a year away, that draft compensation could be the best thing to come from the exchange.