Kellen Moore arrived to the Philadelphia Eagles looking to revive his career. After flaming out with the Dallas Cowboys, Moore had an unsuccessful stint with the Los Angeles Chargers before joining Nick Sirianni’s staff before last season.
The mission was a success as Moore helped lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl and he landed his first head coaching job with the New Orleans Saints. But many were unsure about the situation he was going to, inheriting a roster that had gone 5-12 last season.
On Saturday, Moore’s job became much harder as a sudden retirement has him scrambling for a new quarterback.
Derek Carr’s Retirement Deals Kellen Moore an Even Worse Hand with Saints
According to NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo, Saints quarterback Derek Carr has decided to retire due to a shoulder injury. Carr’s status for the 2025 season was in jeopardy after reports surfaced before the NFL Draft, and Garafolo reports the injury would have required surgery that would have knocked Carr out for the entire season.
Instead of spending the entire season on injured reserve, the 34-year-old decided to hang up the cleats and leave Moore in an undesirable situation.
Tyler Shough, Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener are the quarterbacks currently on the Saints roster but neither are a sure thing entering next season. Shough was a second-round pick in last month’s NFL Draft, but at age 25 (and set to turn 26 in September), it’s fair to question how much upside the Louisville product has coming into the league.
Rattler was a 2024 draft pick but struggled when he got his opportunity, dropping all six starts in relief of Carr late last season. Haener wasn’t much better, completing 4-of-10 passes for 49 yards and an interception after starting a Week 15 loss to the Washington Commanders.
While the quarterback situation is a mess, there are other issues that Moore has to deal with. Top target Chris Olave has dealt with multiple concussions over the past couple of seasons, and his secondary targets are Brandon Cooks and Rashid Shaheed. Running back Alvin Kamara will turn 30 in July, and the Saints’ offensive line ranked 22nd in Pro Football Focus’s final rankings for the 2024 season – although they added Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. with the ninth overall pick in last month’s draft.
The good news is that if things go poorly, Moore could have the chance to select Texas quarterback Arch Manning in next year’s draft. But while Tankathon currently projects the Saints to earn the second overall pick next year, Moore may not be around to see it if New Orleans bottoms out.
It makes the decision to head to New Orleans even more questionable than before and gives Moore a tall task in his first head coaching opportunity.