Derek Carr avoided a long-term shoulder injury in Sunday's loss to Green Bay, but his availability will be an ongoing storyline in the weeks ahead.
Saints head coach Dennis Allen on Monday confirmed the AC joint sprain Carr suffered in his throwing shoulder and deemed the quarterback as week to week. Allen would not yet rule out Carr for this Sunday's home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"We'll evaluate him as it goes throughout the week this week," Allen told reporters. "I think we dodged a bullet there in terms of anything of real significance. I think we're kind of saying week to week. But again, he felt better today than he did yesterday. So we're not making any decisions today. We're not ruling anything out. We'll see where he's at as the week goes on."
Carr was slow to get up after Packers linebacker Rashan Gary slammed him to the turf for a third-quarter sack. He was able to walk off the field under his own power but later went to the locker room following an evaluation in the medical tent. Carr underwent X-rays on his shoulder at the stadium before going to a local hospital to run additional tests.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Sunday that there was no additional damage found in Carr's throwing shoulder upon learning the diagnosis of his AC joint sprain, which led to the belief that the Saints QB avoided a more serious injury than originally expected.
Jameis Winston finished Sunday's game once Carr was officially ruled out, completing 10 of 16 passes for 101 yards but unable to orchestrate a scoring drive in the 18-17 defeat. Winston would be the starter in the event of Carr's absence. Considering Winston's one of the league's more experienced backup QBs, perhaps the Saints will be more cautious with Carr in the coming weeks.
