The New Orleans Saints were without their starting quarterback Derek Carr in Week 15 against the Washington Commanders after an injury he suffered in Week 14 against the New York Giants. Carr went down late in that matchup with a non-throwing hand injury, which was later revealed to be multiple fractures in his left hand, alongside being placed in concussion protocol for a time.
Here are the current updates on Carr, his status for Week 16, as well as the remainder of the season:
Derek Carr injury update
The current status of Derek Carr is that he will be out for the Week 16 matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers, as he continues to push the timeline to try and potentially return this season. As of now however, the timeline is unclear, as reports conflict about the potential for his return, which we will discuss in the next section. The current status of his hand is that it requires more recovery time before he can be sent out onto the field, so he will remain out against the Packers and evaluate where he stands before the next two matchups.
How long will Derek Carr be out?
The current timeline we know regarding Carr is hazy at best, with NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reporting that it is “very unlikely” for the Saints signal caller to return this season, and that he is at least a few weeks away from being able to withstand contact.
The other reports we have had come out believe he may return this season however, with Nick Underhill of Neworleans.football reporting that the “book is not yet definitively closed on Derek Carr’s season” and that if he is able to get his motion back, he would be able to possibly come back for some of the remaining season.
The word directly from interim head coach Darren Rizzi is a mix of the two, as he was quoted via WWL Radio saying, “We’re just gonna have to go along and when he (Carr) gets to the point where he can function well enough to play in the game, I know…he wants to play and when he can, he will.”
Saints quarterback depth chart
The current Saints quarterback room is pretty similar to how it has been in recent weeks, with the two younger players as well as the addition of one veteran for posterity sake just incase anything goes wrong. As things stand right now, the current quarterback room consists of:
- Spencer Rattler
- Jake Haener
- Ben DiNucci
In Week 15, Haener got the start for the first half and did not particularly look spectacular in his playing time. So, during the break, the Saints came out and ran Spencer Rattler for the second half, and he was able to bring the Saints within a failed two-point conversion of taking down the Commanders. With that said, Rattler will get the start this week.
