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The New Orleans Saints escaped Week 14 with a win over the New York Giants but lost quarterback Derek Carr in the process. After hurting his hand on a scramble late in the game, Carr is now feared to be out for the remainder of 2024.
Carr's injury was confirmed to be a significant fracture that will require at least “several weeks,” per Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero. With just four games remaining in the year and the Saints sitting at just 5-8, the odds of him returning to the field before 2025 are slim to none.
The 33-year-old signal-caller picked up the injury while attempting to leap over the Giants' Adoree' Jackson and Dane Belton. He landed hard on his left hand and immediately winced in serious pain.
However, despite the initial optimism, interim head coach Darren Rizzi rejected the idea of placing Carr on injured reserve for the time being, per ESPN's Katherine Terrell. Rizzi labeled his quarterback as week-to-week and added that he is also in concussion protocol.
If he has played his final snap of 2024, Carr's 11th professional season can only be defined as inconsistent. He led the Saints to a scorching hot start out of the gate by scoring 91 combined points in their first two games but quickly came crashing back down to Earth. After beginning the year as one of the league's most explosive offenses and going 2-0, New Orleans ultimately went just 5-5 in Carr's 10 starts of 2024.
If he is officially ruled out for the year, Carr would become the third member of the Saints' offense to do so. New Orleans already has wideout Rashid Shaheed and utility player Taysom Hill out for the year. Chris Olave is also on injured reserve without a targeted return.
Saints' four remaining games in 2024
Since enduring a rough seven-game skid in the middle of the year, Derek Carr has led the Saints to a 3-1 run in the last four weeks. However, with him now out of the lineup, New Orleans' rest-of-season outlook is bleak at best with a tough four-game stretch to end 2024.
Rizzi will have his choice between Jake Haener and fifth-round rookie Spencer Rattler to start in Week 15 without Carr. Rattler started three games earlier in the year when Carr was out with an oblique injury and went 0-3.
Beginning in Week 15, the Saints will take on the 8-5 Washington Commanders who are still pushing for a Wild Card spot in the NFC. They then hit the road to face the Green Bay Packers before facing the Las Vegas Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to end the year. Three of their four final opponents own winning records and will be amid a final playoff push.
As of Week 14, the Saints have zero wins over teams with winning records at the time of their meeting. They came the closest against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3 but still fell 15-12.
