The New Orleans Saints have lost three starting players to injuries during Sunday’s 27-19 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Two are more serious than the other.
Saints quarterback Derek Carr (right shoulder/concussion), wide receiver Michael Thomas (knee), and cornerback Marshon Lattimore (ankle) all left early in the game.
Carr left the game late in the third quarter after he took simultaneous high and low hits from Vikings defensive linemen. He hit his head on the turf as he went to the ground. He remained there, and many of his teammates took a knee as the Saints’ team doctors came out to attend to him. He was later taken away in a cart.
“He was evaluated for a concussion. I can’t really talk about it or elaborate on it,” Allen said. “We’ll look at it, but he was out of the game because he was evaluated for a concussion.”
Carr was replaced by backup quarterback Jameis Winston, who completed 13 of 25 passes for 122 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Carr completed 13 of 18 passes for 110 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions before the injury.
“We’ll see where Derek’s at. I don’t think, I know we’re not in the competition there,” Allen said. “I thought Jameis did some good things. Derek Carr is our starting quarterback.”
Thomas left the game with a knee injury early in the first quarter. He took a hard hit when he tried to catch a pass.
“It impacted some things that we were wanting to do. I thought overall, A.T. Perry came in and performed well. But I think any time you lose a guy of Mike’s magnitude, it affects what you’re doing,” Allen said.
Thomas, 30, started Sunday’s game two days after he was arrested in Kenner, Louisiana, on charges of simple battery and criminal mischief. But he was released a few hours later and took a flight to Minnesota with his team the next day.
The Saints also lost Lattimore in the fourth quarter and his injury had something to fo with his right leg. He was driven to the locker room in a cart with his right leg propped up.
Cornerback Alontae Taylor, defensive lineman Malcolm Roach, and wide receiver Rashid Shaheed also appeared to deal with injuries during the game. A lot for Coach Allen to deal with. But he has to make things work.
