BREAKING: The Saints make Surprise decisions on Derek Carr, Alvin Kamara ahead of season finale

BREAKING: The Saints make Surprise decisions on Derek Carr, Alvin Kamara ahead of season finale

The New Orleans Saints left the door open for Derek Carr to return.

Now, it’s shut.

The Saints ruled out Carr for Sunday’s finale against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, ending his season.

Carr will miss his fourth straight game after suffering a fracture to his non-throwing hand in a Dec. 8 win over the New York Giants. Though Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi pushed back against reporting that described Carr’s return as unlikely, the quarterback ultimately wasn’t able to heal enough in order to play.

Rizzi said the Saints held a simulated game for Carr to test his hand, but the session did not go well.

“We did try to inject the hand and see if he could function, and we’re just not there yet,” Rizzi said. “As I’ve mentioned for the last few weeks, we didn’t want to put him out there in a situation where he couldn’t function fully.”

Rizzi said he wanted to “commend” Carr for trying to push through the injury and attack his rehab. The quarterback did “everything humanly possible” to try and get back, Rizzi said.

Rizzi said he, Carr and the Saints were disappointed with the way the first simulation went and that it didn’t go as well as they hoped. The coach declined to say when the Saints tested his hand again this week.

“I got frustrated by the (media) reports in the beginning because I witnessed and watched this guy every single day come in here and rehab with a purpose of getting back,” Rizzi said. “At no point in the rehab process was there ever a ‘I’m done for the year.’ It was literally ‘let’s see how I feel tomorrow. Listen, we were inching and progressing everyday.”

With Carr’s season over, he’ll have played only 10 games and threw for 2,145 yards for 15 touchdowns to 5 interceptions. New Orleans went 5-5 in Carr’s start and has been 0-6 without him.

Alvin Kamara, meanwhile, will be listed as doubtful for Sunday’s finale. The running back, who hurt his groin in a Dec. 15 loss to the Washington Commanders, is 50 yards short of his first 1,000-yard rushing season.

Rizzi said Kamara would work out before the game to determine his status.

The team also ruled out running back Kendre Miller (concussion) and listed wide receiver Chris Olave (concussion), linebacker Pete Werner (concussion), linebacker Willie Gay Jr. (shoulder) and defensive end Payton Turner (ankle) as questionable.