The New Orleans Saints’ immediate future has become uncertain following the news that quarterback Derek Carr could miss the entirety of the 2025 NFL season due to a shoulder injury.
This unexpected setback has left the team in a scramble to reassess their options moving forward. With Carr’s potential absence, head coach Kellen Moore’s plans for an offense built around the veteran quarterback now appear in jeopardy.
The Saints may need to pivot quickly, possibly bringing in a free agent like Aaron Rodgers, trading for a quarterback familiar with Moore’s system, or even considering a draft pick such as Shedeur Sanders, the highly-touted quarterback from Colorado, to solidify the team’s long-term quarterback situation.
Over the past few weeks, the possibility of the Saints targeting Sanders has gained significant traction.
However, one NFL executive raised an intriguing alternative that could shift the franchise’s trajectory for years to come. This executive suggested to ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the Saints might consider a more radical approach…
Instead of focusing on the immediate future, the team could take a step back in 2025, forgoing a quick fix and instead setting their sights on the 2026 quarterback class, which is expected to feature phenom prospect Arch Manning from Texas.
“I even had one football executive say that the best thing the Saints can do right now, and they would disagree with this, New Orleans, it was just a suggestion from another team, the best thing they could do is tank this year and see if they can entice Arch Manning to come out after next year to come back in and play quarterback for New Orleans,” Schefter said.
“Now we’re getting way ahead of ourselves, but it’s fun to speculate at this time of the year when we’re going over scenarios like this.”
The suggestion is certainly a bold one, but is it too far-fetched?
While many, including ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., think the Saints may very well draft Sanders next Thursday, the potential talent in the 2026 class – headlined by Manning (if he decides to enter) – could be too enticing for the Saints to pass up.
Manning is already being hailed as a generational quarterback prospect, and while front offices will always deny it, the fact of the matter is we’ve seen teams tank before.
One of the real dangers with tanking for Arch Manning is that there’s no guarantee that he will even be in next year’s draft.
As a matter of fact, his family has already dropped plenty of hints that he will play two more seasons at Texas before even thinking about the NFL.
With the draft only a week away, the Saints are facing plenty of tough decisions.
If Sanders remains on the board at No. 9, there’s an extremely strong chance that New Orleans runs his name up to the podium.
However, in the big picture, would the smarter approach for the Saints be to tank next season and hope that Manning enters the 2026 draft???
