Kellen Moore came in with a wave of change at the NO Saints. He wanted to assemble a team full of pro-caliber players. But the biggest issue was their quarterback, Derek Carr. The 4-times Pro Bowl signal caller failed to take the team into the playoffs in 2 consecutive seasons since 2023. Hence, the GM Mickey Loomis also gave the green light for change. But there’s a big hindrance.

Carr signed a 4-year $150 million with the Saints in 2023. Two years later, the franchise wants to part with him. But if they do so, they would still have to pay him $20 million right away. $10 million comes from his roster bonus for being on the roster in March 2024. The other $10 million comes from a portion of the guaranteed salary that was restructured last year.

Kellen Moore is forced to accept this harsh loss as the QB has refused to take a pay cut to remain at the franchise. While talking about his future, the signal caller said, “Yeah, I wouldn’t do that. Especially with what I put on tape. Would I restructure? Absolutely. I’ll always help the team that way.” He was confident that the team would try to keep him. But the franchise wants to move away. The only thing left appears to be assessing the finances.

In 2024, the Saints restructured his contract to save $23 million in cap space. Even this year, if they cut him before June 1, they still have $50.1 million dead money and $1.3 million saving in cap space. But they can’t afford to dilly-dally. If Carr is on the roster beyond the March deadline, he is set to earn a base salary of $30 million for 2025 and a $10 million roster bonus that will be activated to be paid next year. Of course, they need to pay him even if they release him, but it could still be restructured over the remaining years of his contract if they negotiate on good terms.

With Kellen Moore at the helm, Carr’s future at the Saints has become uncertain. They are roping in talented coaches as well to boost their Super Bowl chances.

Kellen Moore brings new DC to the Saints

The NO Saints announced Brandon Staley as their new defensive coordinator. After coaching college teams for almost a decade, he entered the NFL in 2017 as an outside linebackers coach for the Chicago Bears. He moved to the Broncos in 2019 in the same capacity. His big assignment came as the Rams defensive coordinator in 2020. He led the team to first place in points and total yards allowed.

In 2021, he arrived at the LA Chargers. Two years later, in 2023, Kellen Moore also came to the franchise as the offensive coordinator. He was fired after the 21-63 loss in the week 15 game against the Raiders in the 2023 season. However, the bond had been made. While Moore went on to win Super Bowl LIX with the Eagles, Staley was the 49ers assistant head coach.

With this hire, the Saints have taken one more step towards their Super Bowl ambitions. However, the task is not as simple as it seems. They have to straighten out a lot of things. Can they overhaul their offense and defense simultaneously and come out on top?