The New Orleans Saints will likely have to prepare to be without Derek Carr for their entire upcoming homestand.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports Tuesday that the Saints quarterback Carr is expected to miss “multiple” games with the oblique injury that he suffered in Monday’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Garafolo notes that Carr’s injury is “significant” and that the expectation is that the Saints’ medical staff will take the decision to play out of his hands.
The former Pro Bowler Carr was forced out of the eventual 26-13 loss to Kansas City in the fourth quarter after taking a hit off a Chiefs blitz. Second-stringer Jake Haener then took over at QB for the rest of the contest.
New Orleans has a home back-to-back set coming up with a Sunday Week 6 game against Tampa Bay and then a Thursday Week 7 game against Denver. Thus, it may indeed be wise for them to hold Carr out of this stretch of two games in the next nine days.
While Haener is an obvious candidate to step into the starting QB role, Garafolo also reports that rookie Spencer Rattler is a “strong” contender to land the gig as well. The Saints are now 2-3 this season and have recently been linked to a major potential upgrade on the trade market. But at least for the next couple of weeks, it sounds like they will have to make due with one of the younger quarterbacks on their roster in Carr’s absence.
