The Atlanta Falcons are expected to release quarterback Kirk Cousins ​​sometime by March after he started less than a full season with the team. This is due to a series of poor starts from the veteran quarterback and ultimately a lack of real potential, which could handicap the team in the long term if they were to keep his contract.

Many of the reasons the Falcons are moving on from Cousins ​​appear to be the same issues the New Orleans Saints are facing with Derek Carr. Large contracts with multiple years left that could hinder the team’s continued development, both have a .500 winning percentage when under center this season, both have little upside compared to other options on the team, and both have in This season their achievements have hardly been exceeded.

While the Saints don’t have a first-round pick quarterback from the most recent draft class to turn to, they do have a major upside option in Spencer Rattler, as well as a top-ten draft pick in the 2025 NFL draft. To be clear, I’m not a huge proponent of this quarterback draft class, but there are a few strong options that could develop into above-average starters. The Saints have been trying to compete with an older roster and develop their veteran talent through huge contracts for some time. Now, most of those contracts look bad in hindsight without Alvin Kamara and Demario Davis, and the Saints are still well under .500 this season.

In my opinion, the Saints need to use their 2025 offseason to cut Derek Carr from the roster, considering there is a chance in his contract that the Saints could only end up with the one season worth of dead cap hit about $50 million would instead address and build for the future. However, there is an option to make Derek Carr one of their June 1 candidates, which would only see them lose $10 million instead of $50 million, which would be a much better option. Chances are you’re dealing with a dead cap hit from other players anyway, including Ryan Ramczyk, who is likely retiring at this point.

Drafting a quarterback in 2025 and having him compete with Spencer Rattler for the starting role would probably be a good way to see what you have and then build on one or the other for the future when the cap hits Veterans will become clearer over time. It’s no longer even about “throwing the thing away,” but rather about finding financial flexibility to add young people to the roster and finding ways to phase out some of the veterans who may soon be leaving or looking to retire two to three seasons. Who knows what path the Saints will actually take, but if they’re looking for a new head coach in 2025, giving them a chance to build almost from the ground up seems like a better deal than the current roster.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Opinion: Saints should follow Falcons’ lead and cut ties with Derek Carr