ESPN reports that, before announcing his retirement, Derek Carr contacted other teams. He would've played through injury for them, but not the Saints?

There is some precedent for quarterbacks making a return to the NFL at age 35 or older. Tom Brady announced his retirement in February 2022 only to announce his return 40 days later. Brett Favre retired and returned multiple times prior to his final NFL season in 2010. But neither of those situations involved Carr's shoulder injury.