The Cincinnati Bengals burned up up the phone lines looking to bring in a new quarterback.
After Jake Browning failed to perform even at league average as a quarterback while filling in for the injured Joe Burrow, the Bengals were forced to trade for veteran signal-caller Joe Flacco.
However, one notable option didn’t work out behind the scenes: Derek Carr.
The former Saints quarterback who surprisingly retired this past offseason was among the players that the Bengals attempted to sign in the last few weeks, Derek’s brother, David Carr, revealed.
“I can neither confirm nor deny,” David said with a grin in an interview with a local ABC news station.
But the reason he’s not throwing passes to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins right now has nothing to do with the shoulder injury that allegedly forced him to give up $30 million in guaranteed salary to retire.
It was about the looming presence of Burrow, who is out with a turf toe injury that is expected to sideline him into December.
“Derek would like to be in a situation that obviously is a team that really needs a guy to come in and take em’ (for) the long haul,” David said. “There’s a feeling that maybe Joe Burrow might come back at some point this year — at least try to come back. I don’t know if Derek would feel comfortable being in a situation where say he was to enter in a team situation where the quarterback was hurt and he drove them all the way in, they got into the playoffs, and then he had to go sit on the sidelines.”
David added that his brother is very happy in retirement, being able to “wake up whenever he wants, ” but the news that he is ready to step in at a moment’s notice is certainly a bit surprising considering Derek’s retirement circumstances.
“I think that if a scenario shows itself, which historically those have popped up, and obviously God forbid you don’t want a quarterback on a team that is a contender to go down, but this stuff happens, so Derek will definitely be ready if that situation arises,” David said.
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It had been initially reported that Derek wanted to avoid another shoulder surgery that would have been accompanied with a long rehab process and may have ended his 2025 season.
Derek, 34, a four-time Pro Bowler, played very well for the Saints last season in limited action, and has received rave reviews during his early season role as an analyst for an NFL game on Netflix.
Derek threw for 2,145 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions last season for the Saints and would certainly profile as an upgrade over most of the other options available if a team does need a quarterback.
It is likely that the Saints would need some form of compensation via trade in order to give up his rights.
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