The New Orleans Saints are not feeling very optimistic going into the NFL 2025 offseason. This season, not much went well for the Saints. After finishing 9-8 in 2023, New Orleans began the season with some hope after defeating the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys in consecutive games. The wheels then came off. In spite of experienced quarterback Derek Carr’s $37.5 million salary and his frequent absences, the Saints lost seven straight games before firing coach Dennis Allen.
Special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi, who was promoted to head coach on a “interim” basis, appeared to help them. The Saints swiftly defeated the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons to start another mini-streak of consecutive victories. However, it turned out that the wheels had not yet been put back on. The Saints finished the season on a four-game losing skid after dropping five of their final six games.
It was made worse by the 33-year-old, 11-year veteran Carr’s repeated injuries. Carr missed a career-low 10 games due to an oblique strain, a fractured hand, and a concussion in Week 14, which essentially terminated his season. Carr’s quarerback seat was kept warm by 2024 sixth-round pick Spencer Rattler and 2023 fourth-round pick Jake Haener. Rattler, a former Oklahoma and South Carolina signal-caller, took on the majority of the fill-in responsibilities and failed to lead the club to a single victory.
The Saints are prepared to rebuild, with a quarterback position included.
The Saints are looking for a new coach and seem prepared to start over, which means they will probably sever their relationship with Carr. The Saints may give themselves some cap relief and the financial freedom to restructure their roster by cutting their quarterback and the final two years of his four-year, $150 million contract, even though they are now $52.3 million above the NFL salary threshold.
The organization would have more than $50 million in dead money if Carr were cut before June 1st; a trade after that date would bring that amount down to around $11.5 million. What does New Orleans offer a quarterback, though?
Although USA Today Saintswire recently claimed that the New England Patriots’ rocket-armed backup quarterback Joe Milton III would be moved to New Orleans, perhaps Rattler could handle the position.
Getting better in a year would be the only reason to make this shift. The Saints haven’t had a more thrilling passing since Drew Brees, but Milton is as raw as a guy can get,” noted Dylan Sanders, a columnist for Saintswire. In his one game as a rookie, the 24-year-old got relatively little action, but he looked excellent. He completed 75.9 percent of his throws for a touchdown and no interceptions in a victory over the Buffalo Bills.
Milton’s arm is a cannon.
When he started against Buffalo on January 5, Milton sidearmed one pass into the end zone at 62 mph, which is the second-fastest ever recorded in NFL history. Milton has also been known to throw an 80-yard pass at Peyton Manning’s Passing Academy.
Milton completed 64.7% of his passes in his last season at Tennessee, passing for 2,813 yards and 20 touchdowns. Milton rushed for seven touchdowns as well.
Although he chose not to play in the Citrus Bowl, Milton was awarded MVP in Tennessee’s Orange Bowl triumph over Clemson in 2022, which ended in a 31-14 victory.
In that game, the 6’5″, 247-pound Milton—whose full name is Joe Milton III—threw for 251 yards and three touchdowns.
According to Anthony Palacios, a football expert for Last Word on Sports, “Carr has already stated that he won’t be taking a pay cut, and since he’s approaching the end of his contract, (the Saints) might as well settle for the arm that Milton has.” “Rattler had his chance, but they might consider running Rattler and Milton for the starting position next if Carr doesn’t deliver.”
If Milton is hired to compete with Rattler, the cap-constrained Saints would have two young, affordable quarterbacks to develop their squad around for the last three years of Milton’s four-year, $4.2 million rookie deal.
