New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr doesn't oppose game reps in preseason opener

'Especially if it's new for everybody, hopefully we can get out there and just get a couple (of drives)'

Aug 08, 2024 at 04:36 PM

John DeShazier

Senior Writer

Full coverage of the New Orleans Saints workouts during 2024 Training Camp at the University of California, Irvine on Monday, August 5.

Irvine, Calif. – Often, it can be little more than cliched lip service when a starting quarterback says he wants to play in a preseason game.

It's the right thing to say, even when he knows he doesn't really need the snaps because he knows the offense from cover to cover, and there might be little to no chance of him setting foot on the field as the team evaluates backups and avoids injury.

But for the second consecutive season, Derek Carr is in the unique position of having to learn a new offense and this one is even more of a change than the previous one. So the New Orleans Saints' starting quarterback isn't selling banana-in-the-tailpipe fantasy when he says that he wants to be on the field for at least a few series this preseason, which begins Saturday night when the Saints face the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., as Carr and the offense continue attempting to find one accord.

"I think just getting out there and hearing (offensive coordinator) Klint (Kubiak's) voice in the helmet, calling plays, getting the substitutions in and out – I think that'd just be good for us as an offense," Carr said Thursday, after training camp practice No. 13 at Cal-Irvine.

"Preseason games, it's very basic stuff, very easy, simple, you don't want to show anything. You're not game-planning anything. But I think just the operation of just getting in and out of the huddle with each other, getting back in our swing. Hopefully, you knock some of that game day rust off before you're ready to get to the regular season.

"I think every year is different. It's just more like the operational stuff. It is a new offense. It's just different. And it's new for everybody, it's not just new for me. Especially if it's new for everybody, hopefully we can get out there and just get a couple (of drives), whatever that looks like."

The "new for me" reference goes back to last year, when the unrestricted free agent signed with the Saints and then went about the business of trying to learn an offense that had been installed in 2006 with Drew Brees in mind, and had been tweaked to Brees' preferences.

His offensive teammates knew the system and though Carr had played in a similar system under Jon Gruden with the Raiders, there was enough nuance in verbiage and plays that Carr was on the freshman level while others were college grads.

Carr and his offensive line, which will include new starters at left tackle, left guard and right tackle, will benefit from game reps together.

"It's a different system, especially protection-wise," Carr said. "There are different things, different calls.

"I've been so impressed with how fast they've picked it up, and I've really been impressed with the execution of it. We've had a few things, but you see guys really trying to do things the way they're taught because if everyone does things the way they're taught, it usually ends up right.

"These coaches have such a system that it takes everyone being on the same page. So the more reps we can get, being on the same page and doing it right, I think it'd be just a good thing."

Coach Dennis Allen will determine if Carr and the starters will play against the Cardinals, or if they'll debut in another preseason game. Midday Thursday, he said he hadn't yet addressed the team regarding game reps or player rotations.

"We'll talk about it tonight as a staff and make a decision on what we want to do with all of our guys in terms of whether they're going to play or not play," Allen said.

"I've got some thoughts in my mind but I think prior to doing anything or making any type of statement, I think you go in and you talk about it with your staff, personnel guys. We'll have a good plan as to what we want to do."

All-Access Photos: 2024 Saints Training Camp practice 8/8/24