New Orleans (2-3 straight up, 3-2 against the spread) quarterback Derek Carr is going to miss multiple games after an MRI confirmed that he suffered an oblique injury in Monday’s 26-13 loss at Kansas City.
The Saints haven’t given a timeline on when Carr will return, but oblique injuries typically take several weeks to heal. Conventional wisdom says the Fresno St. product will miss at least two games, possibly more.
New Orleans will host Tampa Bay on Sunday before playing Denver on Thursday Night Football in Week 7. Since starting the season with blowout wins vs. Carolina (47-10) and at Dallas (44-19), the Saints have dropped three games in a row vs. Philadelphia (15-12), at Atlanta (26-24) and at Kansas City.
In those five games, Carr has completed 90-of-128 passes (70.3%) for 989 yards with an 8/4 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He has 22 rushing yards and one TD on eight attempts.
Jake Haener, a second-year QB out of Fresno St., came in for Carr in the fourth quarter of last night’s loss at Arrowhead Stadium. He completed 2-of-7 passes for 17 yards.
Dennis Allen will have to turn to Haener or rookie QB Spencer Rattler, a fifth-round pick out of South Carolina. The NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported that Rattler “is a strong candidate to start” after shining during the preseason.
Before last night’s game, most books had the Saints installed as 2.5-point home favorites against the Bucs. However, as of early Tuesday night, most spots had Tampa Bay as a 3.5-point road ‘chalk’ with the total in the 41-42 range.