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THE New Orleans Saints have been forced into a huge decision after Derek Carr’s injury.
Starting quarterback Carr suffered an oblique injury in Monday night’s defeat by the Kansas City Chiefs.
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The 33-year-old will miss multiple weeks after the setback, leaving the Saints with a decision at quarterback.
Jake Haener, 25, was listed as the backup on the Saints depth chart and came in for the injured Carr in Monday’s loss.
He completed two of seven passes for 17 yards in the 26-13 defeat at Arrowhead Stadium.
Rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler was listed as the third choice after being drafted in the fifth round this year.
And the 24-year-old will be thrust into the starting job in an NFC South division clash this weekend.
Saints coach Dennis Allen confirmed Rattler will be under center in Sunday’s clash with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New Orleans faces two games in a short period with a Thursday night clash against the Denver Broncos to follow.
The Saints then have a 10-day break before their next game on October 27 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
And Carr will hope to be back sooner rather than later with NFC South division clashes against the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons to follow.
“Overall, I think he’s doing OK, and yet I think he’s disappointed that he can’t be out here,” coach Allen said of Carr.
“He’s a guy that hasn’t missed a lot of time, doesn’t like to miss a lot of time, so I think he’s frustrated with that part.”
The head coach also explained the decision making behind Rattler taking the starting job.
“We just internally talked a lot about it and felt like in this particular game, that he was going to give us the best chance to win,” Allen said.
“Both him and Jake both have been practicing extremely hard, preparing to be the starter.
“It was kind of the conversation that we had at the beginning of the year that Jake would be the No. 2 to start.
New Orleans Saints schedule
Week 6 – vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday October 13, 1pm ET
Week 7 – vs Denver Broncos, Thursday October 17, 8.15pm ET
Week 8 – at Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday October 27, 4.05pm ET
Week 9 – at Carolina Panthers, Sunday November 3, 1pm ET
Week 10 – Atlanta Falcons, Sunday November 10, 1pm ET
“It was really basically going to be kind of a week-to-week deal and we just felt like this was, for this game, going to give us the best option.”
Haener, 25, is in his second year in the NFL after the Saints drafted him in the fourth round in 2023.
He was suspended for the first six weeks of his rookie campaign after testing positive for a performance enhancing drug.
“I still do not know how the substance got into my body, as none of my supplements or prescribed medications contain the banned ingredient”, he said in a statement.
“I must take full responsibility for the failed test”.
