Saints news: Derek Carr not ruled out, Haener or Rattler to fill in, coaching loss

Well, New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr was not laying up for a higher draft choice late in his team's 14-11 win at the New York Giants Sunday.

Carr tried to leap over cornerback Adoree' Jackson and safety Dane Belton for one more yard and a first down after already gaining nine yards on a scramble to the Saints' 39-yard line with 3:59 to play and New Orleans up 14-11. And it was only second down.

Carr fell over the two players and landed on his head. He braced his fall with his left, non-throwing hand, fracturing it and sustaining his third concussion over the last two seasons in the process.

"That's the true example of laying it on the line," Saints' tight end Juwan Johnson said. "He cares about his team a lot."

And Carr has a chance to play Sunday with a protective device on his left hand if he clears concussion protocol when New Orleans (5-8) hosts Washington (8-5) in the Superdome (Noon CT, FOX), contrary to reports Monday that had him missing the rest of the season on injured reserve.

"I've already seen some reports out there a little bit false," Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi said Monday afternoon. "As it stands at this moment, I don't think it's going to be an IR situation."

Asked if Carr has been ruled out for Sunday, Rizzi said, "I don't believe that yet. We're not going to rule him out just yet. We have to see how the next day or two go - what the healing process is like, see if he can function."

Derek Carr could still play with broken hand — if he clears concussion protocol

In the meantime, Rizzi said he and his staff will decide by Tuesday or Wednesday which of his two backup quarterbacks — second-year Jake Haener or rookie Spencer Rattler — will get the majority of the practice time leading into the game. Even if Carr is not cleared through the concussion protocol until late in the week and can manage the broken hand, he could start Sunday without practicing.

"Conceivably, yeah," Rizzi said. "I think that's likely actually. He is in the concussion protocol. He's got to complete the first step of that tomorrow (Tuesday). See what happens there. But this will be day-to-day this week. And really, the way it looks, it will end up being a week-to-week situation. It appears at the moment that it (the hand) is non-surgical, which is a big aspect of it. He's obviously sore today. He's going to have a second opinion, and we'll see."

Carr already missed three games this season in October with an oblique injury. He completed 20 of 31 passes for 219 yards with a touchdown and an interception Sunday. Haener replaced him after the injury, and a handoff to Kendre Miller lost a yard, and the Saints had to punt. New Orleans punted on its next possession behind Haener as well, and the Giants (2-11) drove to a game-tying, 35-yard field goal attempt by Graham Gano with 11 seconds to play. But Saints' defensive tackle Bryan Bresee blocked it with eight seconds to go for the win.

Jake Haener or Spencer Rattler?

Haener, a fourth-round pick in 2023 from Fresno State, did not throw a pass Sunday and took a sack in relief of Carr. On the season, he is 14-of-29 passing for 177 yards and one touchdown in seven games. He has attempted more than one pass in only three games.

Rattler, a fifth-round pick in 2024 from South Carolina, started the three games Carr missed this season, largely due to his ability to run better than Haener. He is 59-of-99 passing for 571 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions. He has gained 61 yards on nine rushes to Haener's 15 on 10 carries.

"Both guys give us a chance to win," Rizzi said. "We'll decide on that by probably tomorrow (Tuesday). Both have done a great job at practice. Both bring positives to the table. One will get the majority of the snaps this week in the event that Derek doesn't play."

Assistant coach Todd Grantham leaving for Oklahoma State

One of the first moves interim coach Darren Rizzi did when he replaced fired head coach Dennis Allen after a 2-7 start in November was demote defensive line coach Todd Grantham to an advisory role. Grantham will now not finish the season with the Saints as he has accepted the defensive coordinator position at Oklahoma State under head coach Mike Gundy.

"Todd will be finished with us as of tomorrow (Tuesday)," Rizzi said. "Todd has been offered and accepted the defensive coordinator job with Oklahoma State. It's really a good situation for him to go in there with a fresh start. I appreciate what Todd's done for me personally in the last month. This is a great opportunity for him. Mike Gundy's getting a great coach, and congratulations to Todd."

Grantham was Florida's defensive coordinator from 2018-21 and held three other college defensive coordinator posts before that at Mississippi State in 2017, Louisville from 2014-16 and Georgia from 2010-13.