NFL
Derek Carr will sit out, says Saints coach Darren Rizzi
New Orleans finish their regular season in Week 18 against the Buccaneers, who are fighting to clinch the NFC South title and a playoff spot.
The New Orleans Saints will fail to feature in the NFL playoffs for the fourth year in succession, their 2024 regular season not helped by an injury suffered by quarterback Derek Carr, who will miss the Week 18 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Sunday, January 5, 1:00 p.m. ET).
Why isn’t Carr playing for the Saints against the Bucs?
Carr hasn’t played for the Saints since Week 14, when he suffered a fracture to his non-throwing hand in the win over the New York Giants on December 8. That was the last time New Orleans tasted victory, with three successive defeats since then ending their hopes of featuring in the postseason for the first time since 2020/21.
The 33-year-old won’t play again until the next NFL season gets underway in September 2025, with Saints’ interim coach Darren Rizzi confirming in a prematch press conference conference Carr wouldn’t be risked in the final regular-season game against the Bucs.
“Derek’s going to be out for the game. We did try to simulate what a game-like situation would be for him. We did try to inject the hand and see if he could function. We’re just not there yet. We don’t want to put him out there in situation where he couldn’t function fully.
“I want to commend Derek, because these last four weeks have been difficult on everybody,” Rizzi continued. ”But I’ve watched this guy come in here every day and work his tail off to try to get back on the field and I know that’s all been behind the scenes and that’s not seen by everybody every day, but seen by me and our staff and our players and so I do want to commend them on the effort to try to get back out on the field. He really did everything humanly possible to do that.”
Who is Spencer Rattler, Carr’s replacement for the Saints?
With Carr unavailable, rookie Spencer Rattler is expected to be the starting quarterback against the Bucs.
The 24-year-old, who played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners and the South Carolina Gamecocks, was drafted by the Saints in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft as the 150th overall pick.
Rattler will make his sixth NFL career start against the Bucs, losing each of the previous five. This season, he is averaging 179.5 passing yards per game. Other season stats include three touchdown passes, five interceptions and a 67.0 RTG.
While New Orleans have little to play for, Sunday’s game is hugely important for Tampa Bay, who know a victory will ensure they win the NFC South and qualify for the playoffs. A defeat, however, would see them eliminated if the Atlanta Falcons defeat the Carolina Panthers.
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