New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr is in concussion protocol for the second time in three weeks, as well as having a rib injury evaluated.
Carr was unable to complete a game for the third time this season Sunday, as the Saints dropped to 5-7 with a 33-28 loss to Detroit in the Caesars Superdome. He previously exited games in the second half against Green Bay (sprained AC joint) and Minnesota (shoulder, concussion) before Sunday's departure with 10:23 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Against the Lions, he completed 17 of 22 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown, with an interception and lost fumble, and was sacked twice. Carr also was diagnosed with a shoulder injury against Detroit. The Saints will play Carolina (1-11) on Sunday in the Superdome.
"He's being evaluated," Coach Dennis Allen said Monday. "He's in the concussion protocol but he's also being evaluated for a rib injury. We don't have all of the results back on that, but the shoulder seemed like it came out fine. We'll evaluate him as we go throughout the week, see what his availability will be."
Allen said it would be left up to medical evaluation as to whether Carr would be available to play.
"I think that's really in the hands of the medical people in terms of where we're at with that," he said. "I think (team doctor) John Amoss does a really good job with that, he's pretty conservative in those things. We'll go through the protocol and listen to what the doctors tell us and see where we're at."
If Carr is unable to play, Jameis Winston , who has come off the bench to finish the game the previous three times, would elevate to starter. Winston completed two of five passes for 41 yards against Detroit, and has completed 25 of 47 for 264 yards with two touchdowns, and three interceptions, in a backup role this year.
"Jameis, he does some good things," Allen said. "He's been a starter in our league, there's a reason why he's here as our backup and if Derek's not able to go, the plan right now would be Jameis would be in there and we'll put a plan together that gives him an opportunity to have success."
ALVIN THE GREAT: Running back Alvin Kamara raised to three on Sunday the number of franchise records he has broken this season. On Sunday, he became the Saints' all-time leader in rushing touchdowns (53) and yards from scrimmage (9,809), surpassing Mark Ingram II and Marques Colston, respectively, in those categories. Earlier this season, he broke Colston's franchise record for touchdowns; Kamara now has 77.
"I think Alvin has been playing exceptionally well," Allen said. "I think he's been running the ball really hard, I think he's been giving us some stuff in the passing game. I think Alvin is playing at a really high level. He's somebody that, he's a play-maker for us. And we've got to continue to find ways to get him the ball, and I think we've done a better job of doing that this year."
For the season, Kamara has rushed for 508 yards and four touchdowns on 133 carries, and caught 60 passes for 413 yards and a touchdown. In his nine games, he's averaging 21.4 touches per game for 102.3 yards.
IRON MAN: Defensive end Cameron Jordan wasn't able to practice last week due to an ankle injury, but suited up and played Sunday against the Lions. It was the 204th career game for Jordan, who only has missed one in his 13 seasons.
"The plan was for him to have a limited role, and I felt like that was about the right number 15 to 20 plays in the game," Allen said. "He came out of the game pretty well, and I thought he was able to be fairly effective when he was in there. He's a tough dude. He went in there and battled and I thought he gave us a little something."
The other major injury New Orleans suffered in the game was to defensive tackle Malcolm Roach.
"Malcolm has got a knee injury. I think that's probably one that potentially could require surgery," Allen said. "I don't know that that final determination has been made yet."
HEAR YE, HEAR YE: Allen had a simple response to the question of what his messaging was to the team this week.
"Go 1-0 this week. Focus on getting a win this week," he said. "We've got Carolina coming in here, a divisional opponent. We're making corrections that we need to make, but we're not spending a whole lot time looking in the rear-view mirror. We're looking out the front windshield and what's ahead of us. Those are the things that we can control.
"We've got a good locker room, we've got a lot of veteran players in that locker room. I'm not worried about that. We've got to go out and play good football, which we're going to do. And our focus is starting that this week against Carolina. That's where our thought process is. I have no problems with our locker room. I think those guys are going to hang tight in there together and keep swinging. There's still a lot out there for us to play for."
