In a rather stunning move, New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr announced his retirement at the age of 34. The news comes after another series of bad injury breaks for Carr, who, when healthy, played at an MVP-level for the Raiders but couldn't stay on the field long enough to see the job through.
That's what the Saints were betting on when they signed him in 2023, a move that kept him away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Instead, the Bucs ended up with Baker Mayfield and now look to have come out on top of the whole scramble to find a franchise quarterback.
It's a place the Bucs have gotten comfortable in, though, having won the NFC South four straight years. Carr's retirement has a greater immediate impact on the Saints, but it also puts pressure on the Buccaneers and leaves them with little excuse to struggle in winning the division this season.
Buccaneers have no excuses in NFC South now after Derek Carr’s stunning retirement
Carr's retirement has a two-fold impact on Tampa Bay. It frees the Saints up to have more money to spend, which is critical for a team that always seems to have its books completely cooked without any salary cap room to navigate with.
Beyond that, the Saints are now in business for a true franchise quarterback in the NFL Draft which could lead them to landing Arch Manning when he ends up declaring. There's no guarantee that will happen in 2026, but New Orleans is now a front-runner to have the No. 1 pick which would mean the Bucs needing to deal with a potentially generational quarterback for the next decade.
On the flip side, the Bucs now have zero excuses for struggling to win divisional games. Carolina is spicier than it was last year but still aren't a major threat, despite always playing Tampa Bay hard. Atlanta loaded up on pass rush help in the draft but are relying on Michael Penix Jr. to lead them in ways giving $180 million to Kirk Cousins didn't, which is a tall order.
Meanwhile the Bucs are going for a fifth straight division title and now have at least one team pretty much cleared from its path. Any struggles against the Saints is now inexcusable, and Carr's retirement should help make it a little easier for the Bucs to win the division more comfortably than we've seen in recent years.
The division is bigger than just the Saints, but the target has narrowed significantly and it's looking even more like a two-horse race than it already was. Tampa Bay has been its own worst enemy in years past, but Carr's retirement is another reminder that if the Bucs can stay out of their own way then another division crown is more in reach than we all think.
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