Cam Ward sends message to Saints amid draft, Derek Carr uncertainty

While many in the NFL community are convinced that the Tennessee Titans will hold onto the first pick of the 2025 draft to land Miami quarterback Cam Ward, the New Orleans Saints, with plenty of questions about its QB situation beyond 2025, could be players for Ward with the ninth pick.

During an event on Monday evening, Ward indicated he’d be fine if the Saints completed a blockbuster trade with the Titans to bring him to New Orleans. 

“I loved watching Drew Brees and (wide receiver Marques Colston) out there,” Ward said about following the Saints in his younger days, as shared by Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune/NOLA.com. “It would be a dream of mine to play for them, if I get a chance someday. But that’s not really my focus right now.”

Saints quarterback Derek Carr raised eyebrows when he made it known earlier in the winter that he wouldn’t take a pay cut to give his employer financial relief ahead of the 2025 season. New Orleans eventually restructured his contract, and it now seems the Saints will hold onto Carr for at least one more campaign. 

That said, the NFL Scouting Combine ended with Ward being considered the consensus No. 1 quarterback in this year’s draft class ahead of Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders. Recently hired Saints head coach Kellen Moore never selected Carr for the club but met with Ward at the combine. 

“It was a great meeting,” Ward said of that get-together. “If you get a chance to go play for a Super Bowl-winning coach like coach Moore…he knows how to dial up the playbook. The biggest thing I took away from that meeting was that you just have to be prepared at all times, whether you go in as a starter or you go in as a backup. You never know when your number is going to be called.”

Moore was the offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles, who defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX in February. 

Even if that was a “come get me” message from Ward to New Orleans, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. predicted in his latest mock draft on Tuesday that Tennessee will select the former Miami star with pick No. 1. Perhaps Ward’s words will cause the Saints to at least consider making a “‘Godfather’ offer” to the Titans for the draft’s first selection.