Derek Carr, the retired former New Orleans Saints quarterback, recently opened up on “The Rush With Maxx Crosby” about his biggest regret from his time in the Big Easy.
“I wish, man, more than anything,” Carr said, “when we first got there, I was so focused on the football that I didn’t really get to the community aspect like I did with the Raiders that first six months.
“And that’s one thing I look back at like, ‘Man, I wish I did that sooner, right?’ Like, we did some community things. We helped bless a lot of families, and the people out there are beautiful. That’s one of those things where I’m like, ‘Man, I wish I did that sooner.’ That’s one thing I look back on.”
He then began smiling when speaking about Saints owner Gayle Benson.
“She’s the sweetest lady I’ve ever met, Maxx,” Carr said. “She is the nicest — like, we met with her and my wife, Heather, was like, ‘Yeah, you’re coming here.’ I was like, ‘Yes, ma’am.’”
Derek Carr says when he first got to New
Orleans, he was so focused on football that he didn’t get to get
involved with the community. He says he regrets that.
#Saints pic.twitter.com/bWgjRX4i4P
— Farrah Yvette (@farrah_yvette)
May 26, 2026
In May 2025, Carr announced his retirement from the NFL after playing 11 seasons due to a shoulder injury. Over the past year, however, he’s expressed interest in returning to play, specifically for the Las Vegas Raiders if the team hired Klint Kubiak as its new head coach. The Raiders did hire Kubiak, Carr’s former offensive coordinator with the Saints in 2024, but the franchise also drafted Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick in April.
Carr remains retired. The Saints control his contractual rights, so to play for another team, New Orleans would have to trade or release him. The 35-year-old forfeited his remaining salary in exchange for keeping his $10 million roster bonus. He said he didn’t want to “just take the Saints’ money.”