Saints’ Derek Carr Targeting Return vs. Panthers in Week 9 amid Injury, HC Allen Says

Julia StumbaughOctober 18, 2024

Cooper Neill/Getty Images

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr is “very likely” to return from his oblique injury in time to take on the Carolina Panthers in Week 9, head coach Dennis Allen told reporters on Friday (h/t ESPN’s Katherine Terrell.)

The Panthers game is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 3.

Carr has been sidelined since Oct. 7, when he suffered a left-side oblique strain during the Saints’ Week 5 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler has started two games in Carr’s absence. He could earn a third start in next Sunday’s Week 8 matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers should Carr remain sidelined.

Allen told reporters that it was “questionable” that Carr will be ready to start against the Chargers, and indicated it was more likely he would be back to take on the Panthers the following week.

The head coach said that Carr will have a throwing session on Saturday, which could help determine his return timeline, per team reporter John DeShazier.

“This is not something that’s a pain tolerance question,” Allen told reporters, per DeShazier. “This is a functionality question in terms of just being able to rotate his upper body to make throws and being functional at being able to do that. It’s his ability to rotate his torso to be able to throw the football.

“Do I think he’s going to be ready for the Charger game? I’m not sure. That’s questionable. It’s certainly very likely for the following week. But I think we’ve just got to kind of go through the process and see how he does over the next three or four days, that will give us a much clearer picture in terms of his availability.”

Allen said that Carr is likely to resume throwing on Saturday, according to Terrell.

Carr had completed 70.3 of his passes for 989 yards, recording nine total touchdowns and four interceptions while leading the Saints to a 2-3 season-opening record prior to his injury.

Rattler, who has yet to record a win in Carr’s stead, has thrown for 415 yards in two games but recorded just one touchdown pass to two picks.

Both the Saints’ offensive line, which struggled to protect Rattler from 11 total sacks over two games, and the New Orleans defense, which allowed a season-high 594 total yards against in a Week 6 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, have struggled in his starts.

Rattler also exited the Week 7 loss to the Denver Broncos with a hip pointer injury, although Allen told reporters the rookie quarterback should be good to go for Week 8.

The Saints heading into the game on a five-game losing streak. The good news for New Orleans is that the team has more than a week between Thursday’s loss to the Broncos and next Sunday’s road trip to see the Chargers, giving both Rattler and Carr extra time to recover before their team returns to action in Week 8.