New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr’s season could be over amid fears he broke his left hand in their win over the New York Giants.
Carr was seen leaving MetLife Stadium in a cast on Sunday after he tried to hurdle a Giants defender and fell awkwardly on his hand late in the fourth quarter.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the 33-year-old is believed to have suffered a fracture in his left, non-throwing hand – which if true would bring his season to an early end.
While he is set to undergo further testing on Monday, Rapoport added that ‘generally with a fracture, you really do know as soon as it happens.’
With 4:06 of the game remaining and facing a 2-and-10, Carr decided to rush around the right side of the scrimmage after taking the snap.
He then attempted to hurdle Giants cornerback Adoree’ Jackson, which didn’t end well when he came down hard on his left arm and hit the turf short of the line to gain.
Carr was forced to exit the game – finishing with 219 passing yards, a touchdown and an interception on 20-of-31 passing – and be replaced by backup quarterback Jake Haener as New Orleans held on for a 14-11 win in New York.
Speaking to the media postgame, interim Saints head coach Darren Rizzi said that his starting quarterback had suffered an injury to his left hand and that he could also enter concussion protocol.
‘They’re going to do all the scans and the X-rays and all that, so we’ll kind of play that by ear,’ Rizzi said. ‘But he made a phenomenal effort to try to keep our drive going, to get a first down there, just an unselfish player diving and I think he tried to put his hand down and brace himself.’
It is the second injury Carr has sustained this season, having injured his oblique during a matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs on October 7.
He was sidelined for three games before eventually making his return to the field against the Carolina Panthers on November 3.
Rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler stepped up as starter in Carr’s absence but the Saints went on to lose all three games without the veteran.
