National Football League

Saints' Derek Carr says he needs to 'chill out' after in-game outburst

Published Oct. 20, 2023 5:50 p.m. ET

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Derek Carr and the New Orleans Saints suffered a brutal 31-24 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday despite overcoming a 24-9 second-half deficit to tie the game. In the end, the Jags squeaked out a touchdown in the closing minutes to secure the road win. To boot, Carr was caught on camera expressing his frustrations.

"I have been showing my emotions a little too much on my sleeve," Carr said after the game. "I have got to kind of chill out [during frustrating moments] and that's me holding myself accountable because that's not going to help anything. Just trying to be a calming influence in those moments especially during moments of heightened frustration — I can be that presence to calm everybody down."

One of the standout incidents was when Carr appeared to be voicing frustration directly at wide receiver Chris Olave after they failed to connect on a crucial third down in the fourth quarter, but Carr downplayed the matter.

"I wasn't talking to Chris, like the past two weeks I was just talking in general," Carr added. "There were some things that happened today that led to some pretty big negative plays that should never have happened, and I think that's where my frustration came from."

Carr finished the Week 7 loss with 301 passing yards, one passing touchdown, one interception and a 73.4 passer rating, while completing 33 of 55 passes (60.0%). The loss dropped New Orleans to 3-4 on the season and 1.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for first place in the NFC South. The Saints have now lost four of their past five games.

Keyshawn Johnson argued that Carr isn't keeping up his end of his bargain on Friday's edition of "Undisputed."

"Carr, to me, is not living up to what I thought [he would be] at the start of the season," Johnson said. "When he came over from the [Las Vegas] Raiders, I anticipated and expected for him to play a lot better and this offense to catch fire. For whatever reason, they're stalling. They're not putting the ball in the air nearly the way that I envisioned. When you look at the amount of weapons that they have on the offensive side of the ball, I can't put my finger on it. I don't know what the problem is. When you throw the ball 55 times, 55 attempts, that's too many, and I don't need him doing that."

Carr is surrounded by a pair of quality running backs in five-time Pro Bowler Alvin Kamara and Jamaal Williams, who led the NFL with 17 rushing touchdowns last season. On the outside, the Saints have the second-year wideout Olave, who totaled 1,042 receiving yards in his rookie season (2022), and veteran Michael Thomas, a three-time Pro Bowler who led the NFL in receptions in 2018 and 2019 before a trio of injury-riddled seasons (2020-22).

Carr, a four-time Pro Bowler, spent the first nine seasons of his NFL career with the Raiders before signing a four-year, $150 million deal with the Saints in March. This season, he has totaled 1,600 passing yards, six passing touchdowns, four interceptions and an 82.8 passer rating, while completing 63.9% of his passes this season. Carr's current passer rating is his lowest since his 2014 rookie season. 

As a whole, the Saints are averaging 227.9 passing yards (12th in NFL), 98.1 rushing yards (22nd), 326.0 total yards (18th) and 19.0 points (22nd) per game.

Next up for Carr & Co. is a road matchup vs. Indianapolis (3-3) on Sunday (1 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app).

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Derek Carr

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NFL - Jacksonville Jaguars vs. New Orleans Saints - 10/20/2023

Keyshawn Johnson

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