After missing roughly a month of action, the New Orleans Saints were excited to see Derek Carr back as their starting quarterback against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
However, more Saints misfortune struck when Carr hung up an inaccurate pass over the middle of the field to star receiver Chris Olave. The playmaker couldn’t catch the difficult ball and wound up taking a big shot from Carolina safety Xavier Woods, who knocked him out of the game.
Based on Saints receiver Michael Thomas’ reaction, Carr essentially hung Olave out to dry by hanging a high pass over the middle of the field — often referred to as a “hospital ball” by football fans because of the vulnerable and dangerous position it puts playmakers in.
Olave would be carted off the field and is already apparently recovering at a nearby hospital in Charlotte, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport:
The #Saints say WR Chris Olave (concussion) is out for the rest of the game.
“He has movement in all extremities and is being evaluated at Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center for further evaluation.”
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 3, 2024
Thomas called Carr out on his Twitter account after the Olave play and proceeded to go on an NSFW rant that I won’t link here for obvious reasons, but you can check it out for yourself. Here’s the initial segment with a blotted-out curse and inappropriate emoji:
Woof. That’s a fiery critique of a quarterback that has mostly been underwhelming in New Orleans. For what it’s worth, many receivers likely feel the same way about “hospital balls,” but it’s just a little uncouth to call your quarterback out for them in public. And this also seems to be about Carr’s play in general.
With Thomas on no NFL team at the moment, you’re seeing some honesty shine through there.