As the New Orleans Saints visit the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night of Week 16, they’ll be without Derek Carr and Alvin Kamara on offense, per Mike Triplett on X.
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“Saints’ Derek Carr and Alvin Kamara officially out for Monday at Green Bay, per Darren Rizzi,” Triplett wrote.
Triplett added to Rizzi’s comments, noting Carr’s progress.
“Rizzi said Derek Carr has been progressing in recent days, getting grip strength back etc,” Triplett wrote. “Just not enough yet to play on Monday.”
As both teams enter this game off different outcomes last week, the Saints hope to bounce back from their loss to the Washington Commanders.
On the other side of that coin, the Packers are hoping to build off their win against the Seattle Seahawks.
Based on what Darren Rizzi told reporters, the Packers will face off against a Saints team without two of their key offensive starters.
Instead of Derek Carr and Alvin Kamara, the Saints will have rookie Spencer Rattler and a mixture of Kendre Miller and Jamaal Williams.
Saints QB Spencer Rattler starting vs. Packers with Derek Carr out Week 16
With Carr possibly missing the rest of the regular season, the Saints gave backup quarterback Jake Haener a chance to start.
As a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Haener completed only four passes in his Week 15 start, adding 49 yards and an interception to his stat sheet.
However, coming out of halftime, Rattler took over quarterbacking duties, nearly leading a comeback victory for the Saints.
While Rattler’s stat sheet wasn’t impeccable against the Commanders, he completed 10-of-21 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown pass.
Rattler has appeared in three other games in 2024, taking Carr’s place in Weeks 6-8.
In those three other appearances, Rattler completed 57.5% of his passes for 706 passing yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
As a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, expectations from the rookie quarterback were tame. Some thought he could be an NFL-caliber quarterback, while others worried about character issues with Rattler.
However, with the Saints nearly eliminated from the NFL Playoff Picture, they’ll need a strong performance from their fifth-round rookie quarterback against the Packers— another team battling for the postseason.
