The New Orleans Saints could be getting a major boost to their roster in time for their Week 9 matchup against the Carolina Panthers. According to head coach Dennis Allen, quarterback Derek Carr could be making his return for the first time since he was injured in their Week 5 matchup against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and will continue practicing this week, per NBC News.

“Derek Carr had a throwing session today, looked good in the throwing session,” Allen said. “I would expect him to be back out at practice again on Wednesday. And then we’ll go from there and see what his availability is this week. But I’m optimistic about it.”

So far this season, Carr has racked up 989 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions.

The Saints are coming off a frustrating 28-6 setback at the hands of the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium, dropping their record to 2-6. The good news is that they welcomed back several injured players to their lineup in Week 8, including Chris Olave, Taysom Hill, Cesar Ruiz, and Pete Werner

They'll be taking on the 1-7 Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on November 3.

Derek Carr has been unavailable since Week 5 due to injury

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Carr suffered an oblique injury against the Chiefs and has been unavailable since then. In Carr's absence, the Saints turned to Spencer Rattler, who has struggled and was even replaced against the Chargers by Jake Haener.

Carr owns a career record of 74-90 with 40,089 passing yards, 250 touchdowns, and 111 interceptions. He was originally selected with the 36th overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders and played the first nine years of his career with the franchise before joining the Saints in 2023 with a four-year contract worth $150 million.

He's also played in one career playoff game, which took place with the Raiders and culminated in a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2021 NFL Wild Card round.