The New Orleans Saints will face the Carolina Panthers in Week 9. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding QB Derek Carr.
Is Derek Carr Playing in Week 9?
Derek Carr has missed the New Orleans Saints’ last three games after suffering an oblique injury in Week 5. Fortunately, he’s on track to return in Week 9.
Carr began throwing last week, but Wednesday represented his first practice since going down. He was limited on Wednesday and Thursday, and head coach Dennis Allen said Carr appears to be on track to play against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Carr was formally removed from the Saints’ injury report on Friday.
Carr’s return to action is good news for all of New Orleans’ skill-position players. The Saints ranked dead last in offensive EPA per play (-0.27) with Carr sidelined from Weeks 6 to 8. New Orleans benched Spencer Rattler for Jake Haener on Sunday, and the latter will back up Carr in Week 9.
We’ll continue to monitor the Saints’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Derek Carr?
Derek Carr has missed three straight games with an oblique injury, and he might not have his starting role back when deemed healthy.
See? I have to make sure you’re paying attention. This is a long article that you’re embarking upon, and we need you to be locked in as you chase a playoff berth.
Saints QB Rankings, Weeks 6-8:
- 25th in passer rating
- 26th in yards per attempt
- 30th in completion percentage
- 31st in touchdown rate
- 32nd in first down rate
Carr began throwing last week, which leads me to believe that he could be back sooner than later. Jake Haener took over for Spencer Rattler last week in a shuffling of chairs on the Titanic situation and operated from the pocket for 16 of his 17 pass attempts. As far as third-string QBs go, I thought Haener was fine, but nothing noteworthy for fantasy managers, especially with the injuries that have taken place in the Saints’ receiver room.
The first two weeks have proven to be the outlier, not the norm in New Orleans, and while this matchup is tempting, I’m nowhere near comfortable in trusting Carr if activated. There are simply too many viable options at the position this week to take on this sort of risk.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 9 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Derek Carr’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 9
Carr is projected to score 10.9 fantasy points in Week 9. This includes 165.7 passing yards, 1.1 passing touchdowns, and 0.5 interceptions. It also includes 1.3 rushing attempts for 3.5 yards and 0 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insights: Carolina Panthers Defense
Outside of one aberration against the Raiders in Week 3, the Panthers have consistently had a bottom-10 defense this season. They are simply bad across the board, with their best trait being that they rank 23rd in turnover percentage. Most of the rest of their numbers are among the bottom two statistically, which is never ideal (to state the obvious).
The offense’s struggles have not helped the cause. The inability of that unit to sustain drives has resulted in the Panthers being on the field for the fourth-most plays per game (65.13). When you have a unit that is already struggling, the last thing you want is them playing a high number of snaps, but that is what is happening to the Panthers.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Derek Carr’s Week 9 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 6:00 AM ET on Thursday, January 2. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 18 QB PPR Rankings
1) Lamar Jackson | BAL (vs. CLE)
2) Jayden Daniels | WAS (at DAL)
3) Baker Mayfield | TB (vs. NO)
4) Joe Burrow | CIN (at PIT)
5) Sam Darnold | MIN (at DET)
6) Jared Goff | DET (vs. MIN)
7) Jordan Love | GB (vs. CHI)
8) Bo Nix | DEN (vs. KC)
9) Justin Herbert | LAC (at LV)
10) Kyler Murray | ARI (vs. SF)
11) Bryce Young | CAR (at ATL)
12) Drake Maye | NE (vs. BUF)
13) Russell Wilson | PIT (vs. CIN)
14) Geno Smith | SEA (at LAR)
15) Joe Flacco | IND (vs. JAX)
16) Caleb Williams | CHI (at GB)
17) Michael Penix Jr. | ATL (vs. CAR)
18) Aaron Rodgers | NYJ (vs. MIA)
19) Mason Rudolph | TEN (vs. HOU)
20) Aidan O'Connell | LV (vs. LAC)
21) Mac Jones | JAX (at IND)
22) Kenny Pickett | PHI (vs. NYG)
23) Tanner McKee | PHI (vs. NYG)
24) Cooper Rush | DAL (vs. WAS)
25) C.J. Stroud | HOU (at TEN)
26) Drew Lock | NYG (at PHI)
27) Carson Wentz | KC (at DEN)
28) Jimmy Garoppolo | LAR (vs. SEA)
29) Tyler Huntley | MIA (at NYJ)
30) Davis Mills | HOU (at TEN)
31) Dorian Thompson-Robinson | CLE (at BAL)
32) Joshua Dobbs | SF (at ARI)
33) Spencer Rattler | NO (at TB)
34) Jacoby Brissett | NE (vs. BUF)
35) Taylor Heinicke | LAC (at LV)
36) Bailey Zappe | KC (at DEN)
37) Sam Howell | SEA (at LAR)
38) Tua Tagovailoa | MIA (at NYJ)
39) Josh Allen | BUF (at NE)
40) Patrick Mahomes | KC (at DEN)
New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers Insights
New Orleans Saints
Team: New Orleans has lost six straight games, matching their longest skid of the 2000s (also: Weeks 5-11, 2005).
QB: Derek Carr might return to a skeleton crew that doesn’t have the big play upside of the offense he left. Can he make it work? It’s possible – he’s completing a career-high 77.5% of his short passes this season.
Offense: The Saints have scored 45 points in their past three games—they averaged 45.5 points per game during their 2-0 start this season.
Defense: Over the last three weeks, New Orleans has created pressure on just 25% of opponent dropbacks (Weeks 1-5: 38.1%).
Fantasy: Alvin Kamara has more targets (18) than rush attempts (17) over the past two weeks. After averaging 90.5 rushing yards per game in September, he didn’t reach 70 once in October.
Betting: Since 2020, unders are 27-13 (67.5%) in Saint games played after Halloween.
Betting: The Saints have been 1-6-1 ATS since the start of 2022 when they were favored on the road.
Carolina Panthers
Team: Carolina is technically the home team next week in Germany against the Giants – their next true road game doesn’t come until December 8 (Week 14 at Philadelphia).
QB: Baby steps – Bryce Young threw a touchdown pass under pressure against the Broncos on Sunday, doubling his career total of such passes in the process.
Offense: The Panthers are averaging 4.0 yards per play in Bryce Young’s starts this season (Andy Dalton: 5.3).
Defense: Every team that has faced the Panthers this season has posted a passer rating north of 95 (last week against Denver was the fourth time this season they allowed a rate over 125).
Fantasy: Chuba Hubbard ran for 56 yards in Denver on Sunday, 59 of which came after contact.
Betting: The Panthers have failed to cover four straight at home, failing to cover by a total of 40.5 points during that stretch.