The Bucs play the Saints in New Orleans on Sunday, but Tampa Bay may not face quarterback Derek Carr, who was injured in a 26-13 loss to the Chiefs in Kansas City on Monday Night Football. Carr suffered an oblique injury with just over six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and did not return to the game. After being checked out in the blue medical tent, Carr was escorted to the locker room for further evaluation by team trainers.

Backup quarterback Jake Haener, a fourth-round pick last year out of Fresno State, replaced Carr but was unable to move the team. Haener has appeared in three NFL games – all this year – and has completed just two passes. Both of those came against the Chiefs when he was 2-of-7 for 17 yards. Haener also ran two times for 11 yards in Kansas City. He entered the Saints’ victory against the Cowboys and had three kneel downs for minus-3 yards back in Week 2.

“Not good, but we’ll get an MRI and that stuff tomorrow,” Carr said after the game about his oblique injury, which came as he was getting hit from a Kansas City blitz and torquing his body on his final throw of the night.

After a 2-0 start in which the Saints averaged 45.5 points per game, New Orleans has now lost three straight, averaging 16.3 points per game in those games.

Will The Bucs Face Derek Carr On Sunday?

Bucs DT Vita Vea and Saints QB Derek Carr – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs lost in overtime in Atlanta, 36-30, on Thursday Night Football after a short week. Now it’s the Saints turn to have to play on a short week, as the team had to fly back to New Orleans from Kansas City early Tuesday morning.

Quarterback Derek Carr will undergo an MRI on Tuesday to determine the severity of his oblique injury, but it’s hard to imagine he’ll be healthy enough to play on Sunday. And if he does play, the oblique injury could very well limit his accuracy and velocity, and ultimately his effectiveness.

Carr had just became the 25th quarterback in NFL history to throw for more than 40,000 yards on Monday night, but he wasn’t able to celebrate the accomplishment because his injury happened right afterwards. Carr has completed 70.3% of his passes this year for 989 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions. He passed for two touchdowns in the loss at Kansas City before exiting the game due to his injury.

Tampa Bay could very well face backup quarterback Jake Haener (6-1, 200), a second-year player who would be making his first NFL start. The Saints’ third-string quarterback is Spencer Rattler, a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

The Bucs split the series with the Saints last year and both teams finished with identical 9-8 records. But Tampa Bay won the tiebreaker and thus also won the NFC South division. New Orleans is 2-3 with a 1-1 record in the division, having lost to Atlanta but beat Carolina. Tampa Bay is 3-2 and 0-1 in the division after losing at Atlanta on Thursday night.

Bucs RB Rachaad White and Saints LB Pete Werner – Photo by: USA Today

The Saints are already reeling when it comes to injuries. Starting center Erik McCoy, the best player on offense, is on injured reserve along with backup center Shane Lemieux. Lucas Patrick got the start at center versus the Chiefs.

Guard Cesar Ruiz, the team’s first-round pick in 2020, missed the Monday night game due to injury and is expected to be listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Bucs. Tight end Taysom Hill also missed the game in Kansas City due to injury.

Defensively, defensive ends Payton Turner and Tanoh Kpassagnon missed the game in Kansas City, as did linebackers Willie Gay and Peter Werner. Starting safety Will Harris pulled a hamstring against the Chiefs and did not return to action during Monday Night Football.