The New Orleans Saints face a short turnaround this week as they host the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night in New Orleans.
What’s unknown for the game is the status of quarterback Derek Carr.
Carr attempted a season-high 50 passes in New Orleans’ 20-13 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday, completing 32 of them for 353 total yards.
On Monday, however, the team said that had they had a full practice instead of just a walkthrough due to the short week, Carr would have been limited in practice with a chest injury, in addition to the shoulder injury he’s been playing through the past few weeks, per Pro Football Talk.
Immediately returning to play on Thursday isn’t ideal for Carr and the Saints in this situation, as that’s three fewer days for the quarterback to rest up and try to get healthy.
If Carr winds up being unable to play, the Saints will likely turn to Jameis Winston, who has started 10 of the 17 games he’s appeared in since signing with New Orleans prior to the 2020 season.
Saints fourth-round pick quarterback Jake Haener is another potentially intriguing option if Carr is unable to suit up. The Fresno State product was suspended for the first six games of the season for testing positive for a banned substance, but his suspension has ended as of this week and he was at practice Monday.
