The Hurricane stemming from southern Florida transpired into nothing more than a passing breeze in the grand scheme of the 2024 CFB season. Miami’s missteps down the stretch had major repercussions. Losing 2 of their last 3 games meant the powers that be kept them out of the playoffs. Despite falling short of this checkpoint, the Canes faithful still witnessed an enthralling season. More so than they’ve been afforded over recent seasons. At the epicenter of pretty much everything good was their QB Cam Ward. 

Cam Ward’s escapades in college are well-documented. The transfer over to Miami capped an illustrious career that saw him transpire into a Heisman finalist and a consensus top 5 pick off the NFL draft board. Conservatively, that is. Almost every draftnik and analyst is in consensus agreement that Cam will be either the first or second QB to get picked. Parallely, everyone is also in consensus agreement that the quarterback class is relatively weak. More akin to 2022 than 2024, with Kenny Pickett being QB1 yet going 20th overall. Cam Ward better get his best cleats on. Because a senior reporter discerns he’s standing on very slippery ground right now. An assessment made after speaking to one source inside a potentially QB-needy franchise.

Discussing Cam Ward’s draft prospects over “Inside Coverage” on Yahoo Sports’ YouTube channel, Charles Robinson leveraged a conversation he had with someone from the New Orleans Saints. A conversation with new HC hires Kellen Moore and Derek Carr as ancillary entities. He prefaced it by saying, “I don’t get the sense that it’s just an absolute force to take Cam Ward [in the] early part of the process.”

Robinson proceeded with “I was talking to somebody in the New Orleans Saints organization about adding Kellen Moore as the head coach…and I had this moment where it was like, ‘Okay, maybe Derek Carr isn’t ultimately going to be your quarterback’…Do you maneuver in this draft to potentially get QB1?” The reply to this question led to an epiphany for Robinson.

“The response I got was, we’re sitting at no.9. We might have QB1 on the board at nine. We don’t necessarily have to move if we feel like we want to make that addition in the draft at the quarterback position. Immediately, I thought ‘Oh my God. Does that mean that already we have Cam Ward slipping?’” he exclaimed. Right now, it feels unfathomable to think Cam Ward, or Shedeur Sanders for that matter, does not get picked 8 spots in. However, there is no smoke without fire. Is this a concern? Robinson did offer a warning about running amok with that response.

“I always forget how much lying goes on in the process, and how quickly that starts when the off-season begins,” he said. That said, Charles Robinson offered his view about whether the Saints’ belief they’ll have Cam Ward slip to #9 is true or just some mumbo jumbo.

“I think it could be a little bit of both,” remarked Robinson. “I think we’re starting to see the draft adjustment setting in for some of the rookie quarterbacks. That we thought could happen in terms of these guys potentially slipping in this draft. But then, also, I think there’s some lying going on in the process…For a team like, let’s say, New Orleans at #9 in the draft. You’re preserving, really, your options to move on from your veteran quarterback.” So do the signs point towards NOLA moving on from vet Derek Carr? Considering there’s no reason to “lie” if they don’t expect to be in the Cam Ward sweepstakes, it points in the affirmative. However, Kellen Moore hinted otherwise.

Kellen Moore’s comments seem to nip the outside chance for Cam Ward in the bud

What Saints fans wouldn’t give to travel back to the first couple of weeks of the NFL season. The offense was absolutely humming, blowing out teams left and right. Derek Carr seemed to have hit a second wind in his career, a renaissance of sorts. Alas, what transpired the rest of the way was not very artsy. 7 losses in a row after a 2-0 start signaled the end for HC Dennis Allen, and this coincided with Carr’s season ending prematurely with an injury. The Spencer Rattler experiment didn’t seem to have worked, and the Saints appear to already be back in the QB market. It’s commonplace for an offensive-minded HC like Kellen Moore to want to stamp his authority with a new one anyway. He was asked about the future of the position.

“Derek’s a tremendous quarterback in this league. … He’s a starter in this league. He’s a premier player in this league. … Really excited to team up with him and go through this process,” said coach Moore. Instinctively, that seems to be an assurance that Carr will indeed be his QB1 for 2025. But as Charles Robinson warned, lies and surface-level talk are prevalent this time of year. Could they really be eyeing up Cam Ward? Absolutely. Will he really fall to them unless they trade up? Seems unlikely.

Of the 8 teams picking ahead of the Saints, all but 3 need a new signal caller. With only a couple in Cam and Shedeur thought of to command a first-round pick, it boosts their stock even if teams don’t think they’re worth this level of investment. Quarterbacks will always go at a premium, especially when supply doesn’t meet demand. Even if Cam Ward is indeed slipping, his dropping all the way to the Saints projects as a pipe dream. But stranger things have happened.