The biggest question of the New Orleans Saints offseason is at starting quarterback, but it might be a simple answer.
Speaking alongside new head coach Kellen Moore in Indianapolis for this week's pro scouting combine, Loomis gave as strong an endorsement as we've heard to date that Derek Carr will be back for a third year as the Saints starting QB.
"I think we feel like we've got a guy we can win with," Loomis said, according to a report from ESPN. He added that he was "excited" about the potential of the veteran QB in Moore's offense.
It's certainly a different tone than what was struck in Moore's introductory press conference, in which the head coach heaped praise on the player but stopped well short of declaring him the Week 1 starter when asked directly. Moore, who has now had a chance to hire assistant coaches and meet with Carr and the rest of the roster, also struck a different chord.
"We feel fortunate to have Derek here," Moore said, according to ESPN's reporting. "He's a big-time quarterback in this league."
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Carr was effective when he was on the field in 2024, which saw head coach Dennis Allen fired after a 7-game losing streak, but was beset with injuries for a second consecutive season that limited him to 10 games. The Saints went 5-5 with Carr on the field, and 0-7 when backups started, all but one by rookie Spencer Rattler. Moore's willingness to work with Carr in the new offense was always seen as the biggest factor in whatever road the Saints would tread at the QB position. Rattler's future will also be one to watch, as he was drafted by a completely different coaching regime and will be learning his second offense in as many years. Another young QB in Jake Haener will be learning his third offense in as many seasons.
While still not an ironclad guarantee that Carr will be the Week 1 starter, it certainly points the arrow toward that being the reality in 2025. Should that be the case, it will greatly simplify the offseason plans for the Saints as they work down from a roughly $47 million salary cap overage through strategic restructures, cuts or trades. If the Saints intend to keep Carr, that means they'll almost certainly execute a partial or full restructure of his contract, which would represent $30.9 million they could potentially clear against the 2024 salary cap. With that money clear, they could get to cap compliance and free up some extra cash with just three more restructures if they so choose (Erik McCoy, $6.7M; Cesar Ruiz, $6.4M and Carl Granderson, $5.2 million).
Carr has said previously that he is not interested in taking a pay cut. That route would mean the Saints could potentially leave the contracts of several veteran players alone, including Taysom Hill, Cam Jordan, Demario Davis and Tyrann Mathieu, setting up a path to potentially clear significant cap space by 2026.
The Saints have moved quickly to fill out Moore's staff, which includes another pair of former QBs in Scott Tolzien at QBs coach and Doug Nussmeier as offensive coordinator. The Saints are currently in the process of rebuilding their defensive staff, which will be led by Brandon Staley and is expected to shift to a 3-4 scheme.