Last year, Derek Carr was an option for the Pittsburgh Steelers at quarterback before he ended up retiring. Carr was never officially released by the New Orleans Saints, but vetted teams before deciding he wanted to walk away from the NFL after pending surgery.
Now, a year later, Carr has been coming up in reports that he could return. On his podcast, Carr said he would open to returning to the NFL, but needs a specific set of circumstances.
“Would I do it? Yes. Would I do it for anybody? Absolutely not,” Carr said. “Would I do it. Absolutely, I would. I told you two things: I have to be healthy, and I’d want a chance to win a Super Bowl. And obviously, that’s a tough thing to find. That’s hard to do. That’s not easy.”
Carr retired after suffering a shoulder injury that would need surgery, likely costing him the entire 2025 season. Instead of going through that surgery, Carr opted to retire and walk from the NFL after 11 seasons as a signal-caller.
Now healthy, Carr seems to be at least pondering a return to football and looking around the NFL landscape. The Steelers’ top interest remains in Aaron Rodgers, who was the team’s quarterback throughout all of 2025.
But if Rodgers decides to call it a career or even head elsewhere, Carr could emerge as another option for the Steelers.