Report reveals extent of Derek Carr’s shoulder injury

The New Orleans Saints are facing the possibility of some time without their starting quarterback Derek Carr, but the doomsday scenario seems to have been avoided.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network shared an update late Sunday afternoon on the Saints QB Carr. Rapoport says that Carr appears to have suffered a less serious injury than originally expected. 

Carr is believed to have an AC sprain to his right shoulder (with no additional damage found after a multitude of tests). Rapoport notes that Carr could still miss time (depending on his swelling and overall mobility) but that it is not expected to be a season-ending injury.

The four-time Pro Bowler Carr left Sunday’s loss to the Green Bay Packers after being driven into the turf on a Rashan Gary sack (video here). Carr landed very hard on his right shoulder and even had to be taken to the hospital for a concerning reason.

Saints backup Jameis Winston is obviously shaky, but he was starting games for them as recently as last season and will hopefully be a passable fill-in for however much time Carr needs to miss. 

New Orleans is also getting a major offensive weapon back next week, so there is reason to feel encouraged here (especially with how ugly Carr’s injury initially looked).