The NFL offseason is a time for retirement, and a long-time Philadelphia Eagle contributed to that trend in March when defensive end Brandon Graham announced he was hanging up his cleats. Several names have walked away from the sport since Graham retired, including when New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr announced his shocking retirement on Saturday.
A recent crop of injuries proved to be too much for Carr to overcome, forcing his NFL career to end after 11 seasons. The 34-year-old QB's sudden retirement will likely spell bad news for the Saints' pass-catchers, including a former Eagles tight end who just moved to New Orleans this offseason.
Former Eagles TE Jack Stoll Will Regret Joining Saints After Derek Carr's Retirement
The Saints have added a handful of pass-catchers throughout the offseason, with one name being ex-Eagles TE Jack Stoll. The former Nebraska Cornhusker signed a one-year contract with New Orleans shortly after free agency opened, joining ex-offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who left the Eagles to join the Saints as their new head coach.
Stoll got his NFL start with the Eagles after going undrafted in 2021, and didn't take long for him to find a spot in head coach Nick Sirianni's offense.
The Lone Tree, CO native went on to play 57 games (28 starts) across the next four seasons with a brief New York Giants offseason stint mixed in between. He converted 30 targets during that stretch into 22 receptions (73.3%) for 193 receiving yards without a touchdown, while also suiting up for five postseason contests.
Much to his dismay, though, Stoll's time with the Eagles ended when he was waived in November, opening a roster spot for the returning Jordan Mailata. The 27-year-old TE was claimed by the Miami Dolphins one day later, however, the change of scenery didn't help as he wasn't even targeted once after joining the Eagles' NFC East rival.
Between the two teams, Stoll finished the 2024 campaign with career-worst Pro Football Focus grades regarding run blocking (53.1) and overall offense (46.3).
Stoll was likely hoping that Carr would help him return to form, but that's no longer a possibility. Instead, the ex-Eagles UDFA will be catching balls from one of Spencer Rattler, Jake Haener, or Tyler Shough.
Unfortunately, none of those options is great. Neither Rattler nor Haener looked like viable QB1s when they filled in for Carr last season, whereas Shough is a 26-year-old rookie who will likely experience plenty of speed bumps as he adjusts to the NFL level.
In other words, it's going to be a rough year for the former Philadelphia TE and the rest of New Orleans' playmakers. The Saints had the 10th-worst passing grade last season, per PFF, and there's a good chance the aerial their aerial attack will be even worse sans Carr.