During the New Orleans Saints’ Week 5 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, quarterback Derek Carr suffered an oblique injury after taking a hard hit from Chiefs defensive back Chamarri Conner. This caused Carr to miss the Saints’ last two games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Denver Broncos.
What’s the latest on Carr’s status, and will he be able to play in Week 8 when the Saints face the Los Angeles Chargers?
What Happened to Derek Carr?
Carr didn’t practice ahead of New Orleans’ Week 7 matchup vs. the Broncos. He was always expected to miss multiple games, so whether he returns to practice this week will be more telling about his potential availability.
The news was encouraging on Monday, as head coach Dennis Allen noted that Carr had begun throwing again. Yet, Carr did not participate in the team’s practice on Wednesday, as he was listed as DNP on New Orleans’ official injury report due to an oblique injury.
#Saints Wednesday Injury Report #NOvsLAC | @LaMachinery https://t.co/f9DJyYItov
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints)
Allen also reaffirmed that rookie Spencer Rattler will remain the starting quarterback if Carr is out.
The South Carolina product has completed 47 of 75 attempts for 415 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions, as well as three fumbles.
Fantasy Outlook for Carr, Spencer Rattler, and the Saints
Rattler won’t be a recommended start given his disastrous showing to date. His presence has also sapped the fantasy value of every other player in the Saints offense.
Looking at the Saints’ offense with Rattler, they did score 27 points in the second quarter of their Week 6 game vs. Tampa Bay. The rest of his time, though, has been a disaster.
- Second quarter vs. TB: 7.7 yards per attempt and a touchdown
- Other seven quarters: 5.2 yards per attempt and two interceptions
Chris Olave (concussion), Rashid Shaheed (knee), and Taysom Hill (ribs) have all been out, with Shaheed done for the season. Dump-offs to Alvin Kamara can only get you so far.
Carr and Olave should be back in the next week or two, but the Saints are not playable against a strong Chargers defense in Week 8 if both remain out.
In Week 9, the Saints travel to Carolina, and that will be your spot for DFS exposure if you think this offense can rediscover its form from Weeks 1-2.
We’ll continue to monitor the Saints’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Saints at Chargers Game Preview
The Saints have lost five straight since starting 2-0. They’re the first team since the 2015 Dallas Cowboys to lose at least five in a row after starting 2-0 (that Cowboys team fell to 2-7 after starting QB Tony Romo was injured in Week 2).
The Saints have won the past 11 games played in Week 8, outscoring opponents 361-227 (+12.2 points per game) during that run. In the first two weeks of this season, Carr completed 61.5% of his deep passes with a 113.0 passer rating on such passes. His numbers since (45.4 passer rating and 35% complete) look more like Rattler’s than an MVP candidate.
Defensively, the Saints have allowed 502 rushing yards in the last two games, their most in a two-game span since 1980. For the first time since 2012, New Orleans has given up 200+ rushing yards in consecutive games; the last team to do so in three straight games was the 2019 Jacksonville Jaguars.
The average NFL game this season has seen 44.8 points scored — not a single Chargers game has yet to reach 40.
J.K. Dobbins was the story of the first two weeks this season (27 carries for 266 yards, 9.9 yards per carry), but he’s failed to average even 4.0 ypc in the four games since, checking in under 3.0 in three of them.
Los Angeles’ defense allows a score on just 25% of drives this season, the lowest rate in the league and 13 percentage points better than the league average.
