After Derek Carr suffered a sprained AC joint in the New Orleans Saints’ loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, it appears the team is prepared to move forward without its prized offseason acquisition.
According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the Saints have signed veteran quarterback Jake Luton off of the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad. The move indicates that New Orleans is likely to be without Carr for Sunday’s Week 4 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with Jameis Winston currently in line to start at quarterback for the Saints against his former team.
Selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars out of Oregon State in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, the 27-year-old Luton spent a portion of last season on New Orleans’ roster but didn’t play in any games.
To date, his only playing time in the league came during his rookie season when he started three games for the Jaguars, completing 54.5 percent of his passes for 473 yards, two touchdowns, and six interceptions.
In the time since, Luton has spent time with the Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins, in addition to a second stint with the Jaguars, the Saints, and the Panthers. With Jake Haener currently serving a six-week suspension after testing positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance, Luton could be in line to be Winston’s backup this week should Carr be unable to play — although Taysom Hill also figures to take some snaps at quarterback for the Saints.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.