Category: Derek Carr

Saints won’t be changing their plans at quarterback any time soon

The Saints won’t be changing their plans at quarterback. If Derek Carr can’t return this week, Spencer Rattler will start, not Jake Haener:

There isn’t any question about who the New Orleans Saints want starting at quarterback — Derek Carr is who head coach Dennis Allen believes gives them the best chance to win each week. But Carr is still recovering from an oblique muscle injury and not expected back until Week 9’s game with the Carolina Panthers at the soonest, which means it’ll be one of his backups starting again in Week 8’s road trip to face the Los Angeles Chargers.

And Allen isn’t deviating from his path. Rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler is preparing to start his third consecutive game, not second-year pro Jake Haener.

“No, the plan would be to stay with Spencer. And I think Spencer has done some good things,” Allen began, “I mean obviously there are some rookie mistakes. Got to do a better job of protecting the football, that would probably be the biggest thing we have to do a better job of. But I feel when you go back and watch the tape and he’s got protection, I thought he did a good job of throwing the football and creating some things with his feet. He was accurate when he was outside the pocket. So I’ve seen a lot of good things from him. We’ve got to eliminate some of the negative plays.”

Through two games, Rattler has completed 47 of 75 passes for 415 yards with one touchdown against two interceptions. He’s also been sacked 11 times. Of the 28 quarterbacks with fewer than 100 dropbacks this season, Rattler is the only one with double-digit sacks. He’s also one of six quarterbacks with multiple interceptions on such a small sample size.

But so long as Carr is out dealing with an injury during the week, it’ll be Rattler preparing to start in his place. Allen and the Saints coaching staff want him learning from these mistakes and working to overcome adversity so he can develop into a better pro. Haener is waiting in the wings for his opportunity.

He certainly made the most of it against the Broncos. The Saints pulled Rattler after he suffered a hip pointer injury late in the fourth quarter, but Haener led the offense into its only scoring drive of the night, which ended with a touchdown pass to Cedrick Wilson Jr. He completed 3 of 4 passes for 38 yards after taking over at midfield.

For now, that’s all Haener can do. Until Carr is cleared to practice fully and lead the offense himself, all eyes are on Rattler. The rookie needs to keep working and improving and make sure his coaches’ eyes don’t start to wander in the meantime.

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Saints starting QB ‘very likely’ to return in Week 9 vs. Panthers

Derek Carr seems to be on schedule with his recovery from an oblique injury and could return against the Panthers

The New Orleans Saints opened up the NFL’s Week 7 slate against the Denver Broncos on “Thursday Night Football.” The downside of having such a quick turnaround comes with the upside of having 10 days off until the next game.

With all the injuries on the team, New Orleans could use the extended layoff to get healthy before facing the Los Angeles Chargers. They could really use a bye week, but that’s not for another month.

It appears we’ll see Spencer Rattler, but Dennis Allen does seem optimistic about Derek Carr playing against the Carolina Panthers in Week 9.

“Do I think he’s going to be ready for the Charger game? I’m not sure. I think that’s questionable. I think it’s certainly very likely for the following week,” Allen said.

The decision all comes down to the evaluation of Carr over the next few days. The plan is to “see how he does over the next three or four days, and that’ll probably give us a much clearer picture in terms of his availability for this weekend.”

If Carr shows solid mobility, there’s a chance he’ll return after the break. We’ll likely get a gauge on that early next week.

Saints’ team doctors have sought advice on treating Derek Carr’s injury

The Saints’ doctors can’t just keep doing what they’ve been doing. They consulted with Texas after Quinn Ewers suffered the same injury as Derek Carr:

The New Orleans Saints will be without starting quarterback Derek Carr for  a few more weeks, which gives Spencer Rattler an opportunity to learn on the job and take more live reps. But it’s not like the Saints are planning to keep Carr on ice forever. They want him back in the lineup, and their doctors have been doing their homework to devise the best plan for treating his oblique muscle injury.

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers suffered a similar oblique strain, which is an unusual injury for a football player. But the school’s medical staff treated him well and Ewers only missed two games, plus a bye week, before returning against Oklahoma in the “Red River Rivalry” game. Ewers scored a touchdown pass and ran for another score in the Longhorns’ 34-3 rout on Saturday.

And on the broadcast, FOX Sports sideline reporter Holly Rowe shared an interesting footnote. She said the Saints had reached out to consult with Texas’ doctors on how they treated Ewers so effectively.

“It’s such a rare injury, it’s actually something that we see in baseball pitchers and volleyball players,” Rowe said, misspeaking and calling Carrr by his older brother’s name, “Actually David Carr in the NFL had a similar injury, they reached out to Texas this week to find out how they’re treating him, treating Quinn Ewers, because he has looked good. A lot of different techniques.”

That misstep aside (it’s not the first time the Carr brothers have been confused for one another, and it won’t be the last), this is good information. There’s nothing unusual about medical professionals consulting with each other especially for rare conditions like this one. The best surgeons in the world still sit through seminars and visit universities for workshops to learn how to better treat their patients.

But that hasn’t stopped fans on social media from laughing at the Saints’ expense — what kind of sports doctors can’t treat sports injuries? That seems to be a negative response due to all the frustration the team has had with injuries over the years, which is a little unfair. It would be more concerning if the Saints weren’t looking for help when working outside their area of expertise. They can’t just keep doing what they’ve been doing and hope for different results.

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Rookie Saints QB reveals when he found out he’d be starting vs. Bucs

Derek Carr was injured Monday night, and it took less than 24 hours for Spencer Rattler to find out he’d be the starter in their next game:

Spencer Rattler will be the New Orleans Saints starting quarterback when the team faces off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and we have a new piece of the timeline that led up to the announcement.

Derek Carr went down with an oblique injury against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night. Dennis Allen announced Spencer Rattler would be the starter in Carr’s absence on Wednesday afternoon.

Rattler recently revealed he found out he would start the day before: “Found out Tuesday morning. It was exciting, they have confidence in me.”  That’s basically immediately after the game, which means they knew Carr’s injury was serious right away.

It could also be possible that Rattler was told he would start if Carr couldn’t play, while the team gathered more information on Carr’s health.

The most important thing that it tells you, however, is the Saints knew what direction they’d go if the situation arose. Being decisive was imperative in this case. Making the decision quick gave Rattler a week full of first team reps in practice.

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Dennis Allen announces new starting quarterback for Week 6 vs. Bucs

Spencer Rattler will make his NFL debut as the starting quarterback for the New Orleans Saints this Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Spencer Rattler will make his NFL debut as the starting quarterback for the New Orleans Saints this Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. No sources needed here. Dennis Allen himself delivered the news during Wednesday’s presser.

When Derek Carr went down with an oblique injury, the first question was will he be healthy enough to play against the Buccaneers. That question was quickly answered. Carr is expected to miss multiple weeks due to the injury.

The second question was who would start in his place. Would it be Spencer Rattler or Jake Haener? We received that news just as quickly. That may be the most surprising part. Allen has kept many things close to the vest this year. It was shocking to see him announce this so quickly.

Rattler and Haener battled it out in a close competition during Saints training camp. Rattler seemingly pulled ahead during the final preseason game.

Rattler is the higher upside player, and if there was someone who would be the quarterback of the future on the roster, it’s him. He provides a mixture of arm talent and athleticism that’ll bring a different dynamic to the offense.

Let “The Agenda” begin.

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Saints can no longer keep their opinion on young quarterbacks veiled

Dennis Allen will be forced into choosing between Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler after Derek Carr’s injury. He avoided a public decision after training camp:

Dennis Allen avoided saying who won the battle between Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler at New Orleans Saints training camp. Even Haener’s placement as Derek Carr’s backup doesn’t give a clear-cut answer. We’ve seen situations where the backup doesn’t take over in the following weeks, like when Taysom Hill stepped in for an injured Drew Brees rather than Jameis Winston.

With Carr expected to miss multiple weeks, the veil will be completely lifted on who they believe has the edge, because New Orleans won’t run a two-quarterback system. If the Saints truly think it’s an even race, they’ll have to make that tough decision. Allen will have to make a decision, and he’ll have to make it quick.

Neither Haener or Rattler have ever started a regular season game. Whoever is starting needs to take all the first team reps this week in practice. Competing throughout the week and sharing first team reps will ultimately do a disservice to the Week 6 starter.

This doesn’t mean Allen has to announce the decision. He actually will probably keep it to himself. Allen didn’t even want to say Will Harris will be the starting safety in Week 1 prior to the game. He’ll definitely keep the starting quarterback close to the vest. In this situation, it’s more understandable.

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Report: Saints starting QB expected to miss multiple games with injury

New Orleans Saints starting quarterback Derek Carr is expected to miss multiple games with an oblique injury he suffered late against the Chiefs:

This is big. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport report that New Orleans Saints starting quarterback Derek Carr is expected to miss multiple games with an oblique injury he suffered late in Monday night’s loss against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Carr twisted awkwardly while winding up to throw, and that’s going to cost him. The Saints have to play two home games in the next nine days — first against the division-rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Oct. 13, and then against their old coach Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos on Thursday, Oct. 17.

It’s too soon to say whether injured reserve could be an option for Carr, but expect Jake Haener, not Spencer Rattler, to fill in for him in the meantime. Haener has been the next man up all season as Carr’s principal backup. It’s possible the Saints could shift course and go with the rookie Rattler after giving him a week of practice to prepare, but that feels unlikely.

Hopefully Taysom Hill can return soon to lighten the load. The do-it-all tight end is one of their most valuable playmakers and Klint Kubiak’s offense has missed him while managing just 12 and 13 points in the two games Hill has missed this season. Whoever is starting under center, they’ll need better support and protection than Carr was given.

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Derek Carr dealing with new injury, will learn more after return to New Orleans

Derek Carr is dealing with a new injury after an awkward windup to throw late against the Chiefs. He says he’ll learn more after the team returns to New Orleans:

The last time we saw Derek Carr, he was writhing in pain and clutching at his lower back after his final pass against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night. Then he got up slowly, was walked to the blue medical tent on the New Orleans Saints sideline, and then escorted to the locker room for further evaluation. So how was he feeling after the game?

“Not good,” Carr replied, “We’ll get an MRI and all that kind of stuff tomorrow, and figure it out.”

Carr said he wasn’t functional — not able to move and throw how he needed to, and that there wasn’t time for the team medical staff to treat him with just  minutes left in regulation. So he’ll travel back to New Orleans and undergo testing to get a better idea of what’s ailing him after a night’s rest.

But it wasn’t a hard collision that hurt him. Carr said an awkward windup to throw was when he first noticed something was off: “It wasn’t even the hit, honestly. Just when I dropped back, and torqued to throw that ball to (Mason Tipton), that’s when I felt it.”

The Saints announced his injury as an oblique issue, and those have been a problem for them before. Marshon Lattimore missed most of training camp dealing with it. Drew Brees had it flare up a couple of times over the years, too. There’s certainly a possibility it could keep Carr from playing next week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

If that’s the case, everything the Saints have done and said suggests it would be Jake Haener starting next Sunday, not Spencer Rattler. But we’ll just have to wait for an update once Carr has had the opportunity to go through a thorough evaluation. The only certainty is that the Saints offensive line can’t do as poor a job protecting their quarterback as they did Monday night and expect to win.

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Derek Carr connects with Rashid Shaheed for another deep TD

It’s been a while since Derek Carr and Rashid Shaheed connected on a deep shot. Shaheed continues to show why he’s an elite threat downfield:


The New Orleans Saints are on the board. Derek Carr connected with Rashid Shaheed streaking down the middle of the field for a 43-yard touchdown. This is the first time the two have connected for a deep touchdown since Week 2.

This is Shaheed’s 9th touchdown reception of 30 or more yards since entering the league. That ties him with Hypothetical Future Saint Davante Adams for the most touchdown catches of that distance in the timeframe. Nevermind, this isn’t time for that.

This throw from Carr traveled 50.6 yards in the air. If you remove the touchdown caveat, this is Shaheed’s 9th catch of his career that traveled more than 50 yards in the air. That’s the most in the NFL since 2022. Shaheed holds that title all by himself, per Next Gen Stats.

The Saints hadn’t utilized Chris Olave much to start the game. He’d only seen one targe, while Carr threw to Shaheed five times in the first half. This was the first big connection.

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Derek Carr’s first quarter interception broke Saints’ streak

Derek Carr extended his interception streak to four games, and ended the Saints’ streak of opening-drive scores in the process:


Derek Carr threw an interception on the New Orleans Saints’ opening drive. That makes the first time the Saints haven’t scored on their first drive of the game this season.

While one streak breaks, another is extended. Carr extends his streak of games with an interception to four in a row. It was an ugly interception at that. The pass was intended for Rashid Shaheed and is a great showcase of how Carr reacts under pressure.

A Chiefs defender entered in the backfield and Carr was clearly antsy from the mere presence of a red jersey. Alvin Kamara did a good job stopping George Karlaftis. But Carr was already nervous.

Carr never stopped fading backwards and threw off his back foot. The pass lofted in the air. Shaheed had no chance at this pass. It was a rushed decision that appeared heavily influenced by fear. The idea of pressure left Carr scared, so he rushed to get rid of it.

The result was an interception and no points on the board.

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