Saints head coach Dennis Allen included just about everyone short of Bobby Hebert when running through the team’s possible starting quarterbacks for Week Eight against the Chargers after Thursday night’s loss to the Broncos, but there’s little question about who his top choice would be.
Derek Carr was the team’s starting quarterback before an oblique injury knocked him out in Week Five, but Allen didn’t make it sound like he’s likely to be back for the Chargers game when he spoke to reporters on Friday. Allen said Carr’s return is contingent on “his ability to rotate his torso to be able to throw the football” and Carr isn’t quite to that point yet.
“I think we’re getting closer. Do I think he’s going to be ready for the Charger game? I’m not sure. I think that’s questionable,” Allen said, via Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com. “I think it’s certainly very likely for the following week. But I think we’ve got to just kind of go through the process and see how he does over the next three or four days and that’ll probably give us a much clearer picture in terms of his availability for this weekend.”
Spencer Rattler started the last two games, but Jake Haener replaced Carr in Week Five and he threw a touchdown after replacing an ineffective Rattler on Thursday night. Allen also mentioned Taysom Hill as a possibility, but he’s dealing with injury issues of his own, so a lot still has to play out before we get clarity on the quarterback plan in New Orleans.
