New Orleans Saints QB Derek Carr expected to start today against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Report

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr is expected to start Sunday when the Saints face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to a report.

Carr suffered a sprained AC joint in his shoulder during the Saints’ 18-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 3. Carr was a limited participant in practice on Thursday and Friday, but reportedly made progress throughout the week.

READ MORE

Thursday Night Football between the Jacksonville Jaguars and New Orleans Saints from Louisiana will open up the Week 7 slate.

This is a matchup between two teams going in opposite directions. Jacksonville has won three consecutive games, including two in a row across the pond in London. New Orleans has lost three of four since starting the season 2-0.

For the road team, Trevor Lawrence is set to go after being listed as questionable heading in with a knee injury. Whether he’s close to 100% in this one remains to be seen.

Related: Love Fantasy Sports? Get Top FREE Insights From One Of The World’s Best Players Today!

As for the Saints, Derek Carr will make his seventh start with the team. The longtime Raider signal caller has not been great, throwing just five touchdowns while leading the NFL’s 24th-ranked scoring offense. Dennis Allen and Co. need to get back on track at home.

READ MORE

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence is expected to play on Thursday Night Football against New Orleans Saints despite not being fully fit.

Lawrence has been dealing with a mild left knee sprain, but per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Jaguars head coach Doug Peterson expects to see his starter take to the field.

The 24-year-old will go through his normal pre-game workout before a final decision is made on his status.

The Jaguars are 4-2 on the season ahead of Thursday night, following three straight wins against the Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts.

Who are the back-ups if Lawrence is ruled out?

If Lawrence does not get through his pre-game workout, the Jaguars will turn to back-up quarterback C.J. Beathard.

The 29-year-old is in his third year as the back-up to Lawrence with the Jaguars, having spent three years with San Francisco 49ers prior to his move to Duval County.

Beathard has thrown 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions during his time in the NFL, and has a respectable 59% pass completion rate.

If Beathard is called upon to start, rookie Nathan Rourke will be the back-up for the Jaguars.

Rourke began his career playing in the Canadian Football League. After a breakout season in 2022 he attended workouts for several NFL franchises before signing with the Jaguars in January 2023.

Some will say it’s never a quarterback’s fault when the ball is tipped in the air. But Carr threw that in between three Jaguars defenders. It wasn’t going to end well for New Orleans. Following said inrerception Carr had completed just 16-of-30 passes for 138 yards with an interception.

New Orleans was able to drive down the field 52 yards on 11 plays to open up the second half, culminating in a 42-yard field goal from Blake Grupe to pull the game to within 17-9 five-plus minutes into the third quarter.

Even then, continued struggles getting into the end zone has to be frustrating for Derek Carr and the New Orleans Saints. That’s three field goals thus far on Thursday Night Football.

Immediately after Jacksonville succeeded on a fake punt, it was able to kick a field goal to go up 17-6. It came after Trevor Lawrence seemingly threw an interception into the hands of star Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore. Officials on hand in the Superdome reversed the original call of a pick, giving the Jags an opportunity to kick the field goal and take a two-score lead into the half.

One of the biggest takeaways of the first 30 minutes were the boo birds that fans in New Orleans presented their team with. Said booes were loud as the teams made their way to the locker room.

Up 14-6 in the second quarter, the Jaguars were seemingly punting from the Saints 46-yard line. That’s when Doug Pederson and Co. went with the fake punt. It resulted in a completion from punter Logan Cooke to wide receiver Tim Jones.