Carr: 'I am no savior' ahead of Week 9 return for reeling Saints
The New Orleans Saints looked good with Derek Carr under center in the first month of the season but have now lost six consecutive games, including three without the injured quarterback.
With Carr set to return from his oblique injury Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, the expectation is that New Orleans can finally return to the win column. But the 33-year-old is dismissing the narrative that he might save the Saints moving forward.
"I am no savior. There's only been one of those, and that is not me," Carr said Wednesday, according to ESPN's Katherine Terrell. "I am here to be a great leader and to be a great teammate and to do my job, the best of my ability. And do I feel confident in what I can do? Absolutely. I feel confident in what I can do. I feel confident in what I can bring to our team. And that's exciting, right? But to save us or anything like that, that's not me. I'm gonna come in and do what my guys expect me to do."
The Saints were football's hottest team in the season's first two weeks, as they scored 91 points combined in those games en route to starting the campaign 2-0. New Orleans wasn't able to keep its momentum and lost three games with Carr, including a Week 5 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in which the QB sustained a fourth-quarter injury.
With Carr sidelined, the Saints started fifth-round rookie Spencer Rattler. Since Week 6, the NFC South club - which has scored only 18 points combined in its last two games - ranks dead last in EPA/play.
"It sucks having to sit there and watch when it wasn't the most painful thing I've ever dealt with. It was just a lack of being able to do my job," Carr added. "That was the most frustrating part, because I couldn't just play through it. I just literally couldn't do it. ... It's been the most frustrating injury I've ever had, besides breaking my ankle and not being able to play in the playoffs that year."
With Carr expected to return in Week 9, Saints head coach Dennis Allen announced that second-year passer Jake Haener will be the backup over Rattler.
"My expectation is that Derek's going to be ready to go," Allen said. "In that case, Jake will be the backup. ... I don't want to get into the specifics of the reasons why, but I feel like that's the best thing for our team."
The Saints beat the Panthers 47-10 when they met for the first time this season in Week 1.
Carr completed 70.3% of his passes for 989 yards and eight touchdowns against four interceptions before being sidelined.