The New Orleans Saints will be without quarterback Derek Carr for the foreseeable future.
Carr, who left their 26-13 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night, is expected to miss several games with an oblique injury, according to Mike Garofolo of NFL Networks. A specific timeline is not clear, but Carr will likely miss games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday and the Denver Broncos the following Thursday night.
Carr left Monday night’s game at Arrowhead Stadium after taking a hard hit while trying to complete a pass late in the fourth quarter. A few plays later he was seen leaving the field, and did not return. Carr underwent an MRI on Tuesday to determine the severity of the injury, which head coach Dennis Allen described after the loss as a “left-sided injury.”
Carr said he didn’t hurt himself on the hit during the play — the Chiefs sent an all-out blitz his way on the fourth down play, forcing an incompletion and ultimately a turnover on downs — but while he was trying to make the throw before he was a hit.
“I couldn’t do what I had to do, in the simplest form,” Carr said of the play.
Carr was thus replaced by Jake Haener for the rest of the game. Haener, a second-year quarterback from Fresno State, has now played in three games this season, though he had attempted just one pass before Monday night. He finished 2-of-7 for 17 yards to close out the loss in Kansas City.
Although Haener was called up Monday night, the Saints are reportedly considering starting rookie Spencer Rattler in Carr’s absence. Rattler, whom the Saints picked up in the fifth round of the NFL Draft earlier this year, threw for a career-high 3,186 yards and 19 touchdowns last season at South Carolina. If he does start on Sunday, he would be the fifth starting quarterback in the league to start this season. Rattler has yet to play a game for New Orleans.
Carr threw for 989 yards and eight touchdowns with four interceptions this season, his second in New Orleans, while leading the Saints to a 2-3 start. They have now lost three in a row after opening the season with back-to-back wins.
After the Buccaneers and Broncos games, the Saints will have a 10-day break before heading out to take on the Los Angeles Chargers in Southern California. That should give Carr time to return before the end of the month, as long as he doesn’t suffer any setbacks in his recovery.
