Derek Carr announces his retirement – What does it mean for the Giants?

Will the Giants be facing Tyler Shough?

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr has announced his retirement from the NFL.

Carr’s status for the season had been in question dating back to the news that he required shoulder surgery prior to the draft. It was revealed Saturday that Carr suffered a labral tear and damage to his rotator cuff that is degenerative in nature, which prompted his retirement.

The New York Giants will face the Saints in New Orleans this year, making their quarterback situation of significant importance for the Giants. With Carr’s retirement, the Saints’ QB room now consists of Jake Haener, Spencer Rattler, and Tyler Shough.

The Saints were widely considered one of the Giants’ chief competitors for a quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft. Joe Schoen himself was seen to be worried that the Saints would draft, or trade up for, Jaxson Dart.

That, as we now know, didn’t happen and the Giants were able to execute their trade up for Dart. The Saints, meanwhile, made Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough the third passer off the board and selected him with the 40th pick in the draft.

Where the Giants, and much of the NFL world, suspected that the Saints were pursuing Dart, it could have been that the Saints themselves knew (or at least strongly expected) that Carr would retire and targeted Shough instead.

While Shough will be a 26-year old rookie who’s college career was so long that he was Justin Herbert’s backup at Oregon, he only has one complete season as a starter under his belt. That said, he was believed to be one of the most “Pro Ready” quarterbacks in the draft due to his mental maturity and experience in multiple schemes as well as his plus arm strength and athleticism.

It had been surmised that Jaxson Dart and Shedeur Sanders would be tied together after the Giants passed on Sanders in favor of Dart. That seems unlikely after the rest of the NFL passed on Sanders multiple times.

Now, however, it could be that Shough and Dart could be the quarterbacks who are linked.

Carr sustained his career-ending injury against the Giants, when he made the ill-fated decision to (attempt to) hurdle a Giants’ defender when the two teams played last year. Carr was upended in mid-air, landing on his shoulder and had to be helped off the field.

That play ultimately put the Saints in the market for a quarterback, and might just tie the careers of Shough and Dart.

The other aspect of this from a roster perspective is that the Giants signed both Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston as free agents. Not only are they expected to carry the load for the Giants this year (and provide scaffolding for the development of Dart), but the Giants also denied them to the other quarterback-needy teams.

There were really only five viable free agent quarterbacks on the market this year — and possibly only four, depending on the status of Aaron Rodgers. The Giants snapping up two of them put both the Steelers and Saints in a bind.

It seems unlikely that the Giants would help out the Saints by trading one of their veterans. Not only would that possibly risk their own season, but it could also risk the development of Dart if he’s pushed onto the field too early.

In the short term, going from Derek Carr to Haener, Rattler, or Shough significantly changes the complexion of the Giants’ upcoming road game against the Saints. The Giants are expected to face one of the most daunting schedules in the NFL, and unleashing their upgraded defense on an inexperienced quarterback makes the game significantly more favorable than a veteran Pro Bowl quarterback.

We shouldn’t chalk this game up as a win, but the news of Carr’s retirement likely improved the Giants’ chances in New Orleans.