Advertisement

Derek Carr: I'm going to do everything I can to play

ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports
·2 min read

The Saints have not ruled out Derek Carr for Sunday's game against the Buccaneers, but his injured right shoulder kept him out of Wednesday's practice.

Carr said he is taking his status day by day.

"I'm going to do everything I can to be out there with my guys," Carr said, via Katherine Terrell of ESPN. "If I can play, I'll play. If I physically just can't play, then I can't play. But if I'm out there, that means there is no fear of re-injury. There's no fear this. There's no fear of being able to help the football team."

The Saints will not make a decision before the end of the week, giving Carr time to see if he can heal enough to go.

"He's feeling better today," Allen said. "We'll evaluate him to see where he's at tomorrow and hopefully we'll be able to get him back out there. . . . I'm not ruling anything out."

Carr said he could play without throwing this week, but he won't play if he thinks it will hurt the team. Jameis Winston will start if Carr can't.

"I'm not saying that I don't need practice, and everybody needs practice reps, but sometimes situations are different, right? And especially during the season, you want as many reps as you can get," Carr said. "There's still stuff I'm doing with the trainers and there's still stuff I'm doing to . . . see where we're at.

"But, if I didn't throw a ball all week -- who knows if that's going to be the case -- but if it is, then I'd still feel confident on Sunday. . . . I'll never put the team in a bad place with the roster spot. If I'm out there, that means I feel confident that I'm good. I'm solid. That means I'm ready to play, and I can help us win."

The Saints (2-1) held a 17-0 lead when Carr left Sunday. They lost 18-17.

Carr was among seven Saints who didn't practice Wednesday. Safety Jordan Howden (finger), offensive guard Cesar Ruiz (concussion), cornerback Paulson Adebo (hamstring), tight end Foster Moreau (ankle), tight end Jimmy Graham (rest) and right tackle Ryan Ramczyk (rest) also sat out on-field work.