The Saints won on Sunday, but quarterback Derek Carr paid a heavy price. Carr exited the Saints’ 14-11 victory early with a left hand injury. Additional tests revealed that the veteran suffered a significant fracture to his non-throwing hand and is expected to miss several weeks, according to NFL Media. Interim head coach Darren Rizzi also told reporters Monday that Carr is in concussion protocol.
With only four weeks left in the regular season, there’s a good chance Carr’s season is over. That being said, this report notes that the Saints cannot place Carr on injured reserve to keep the return window open. If he was placed on IR, he would have to miss four weeks, which would be the rest of the year.
Carr suffered both injuries on a nine-yard run with just nine minutes left in the game. Despite his absence, the Saints held on for a three-point victory after the Giants missed a field goal with 11 seconds left.
“The thing is, before the series even started, he was just talking about how he was going to put it in play,” Saints tight end Juwan Johnson said of Carr. “And that’s the real example of how put it out there on the line… He cares a lot about his team and I will always go to war with someone like that. It sucks that he got hurt because of that, but I respect the decision for what he did.
Carr missed three games earlier this year due to injury. He was replaced in those games by rookie Spencer Rattler, who struggled as New Orleans failed to win a single game in that span. Jake Haener, a 2023 fourth-round pick, replaced Carr late in Sunday’s game.
Injuries have been a constant problem this season for the Saints, who are now 5-8 after a 2-0 start. New Orleans has been somewhat saved this season, however, as it has won three of its last four games under interim head coach Darren Rizzi. Despite being under .500, they are still technically in the race for the NFC South, trailing the first-place Buccaneers by just two games in the loss column. Next week, the Saints will host the Washington Commanders before visiting the Green Bay Packers in Week 16, hosting the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 17 and then completing the year on the road against Tampa Bay.
