‘Very improbable’ for Saints quarterback Derek Carr to return this season

NFL Network said on Tuesday that Derek Carr, the quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, is very unlikely to make a comeback this season due to several fractures in his left hand.

Carr would not be declared out for Week 16, which is a trip to play the Green Bay Packers on Monday night, according to the report, which was made a day after New Orleans interim coach Darren Rizzi stated as much. Additionally, Carr has not yet been released from concussion protocol and did not participate in Sunday’s 20-19 loss to the Washington Commanders, where Spencer Rattler led four touchdown drives in a nearly comeback victory after replacing Jake Haener.

In a Week 17 game in New Orleans on December 29, the Saints (5-9) take on Carr’s old squad, the Las Vegas Raiders, and the 33-year-old quarterback is probably eager to compete against his former boss.

In a 14–11 victory over the New York Giants on December 8, Carr hurt his non-throwing hand. As a ballcarrier, he attempted a head-first dive and was injured, bracing his fall with his left hand. Carr could be able to return with a soft cast if team physicians give their OK, but non-displaced fractures usually take at least four weeks to fully heal. There are fifteen days between the injury date and kickoff in Green Bay.

In an earlier NFL Network story, Rizzi publicly denied that Carr had sustained a “significant fracture” to his left hand. “Reports out there were a little bit false” about the severity of Carr’s injuries, he remarked the day after the game in New York.

On Monday, Rizzi stated that “it wouldn’t be a reach” for Carr to make a comeback to the field before the season ended.

Carr didn’t play again until November 3 against Carolina after suffering an oblique injury during a Monday night defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs on October 7.