Banged up, slumping Saints now face uncertainty at QB as they try to end a 3-game skid

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The once-surging New Orleans Saints are now slumping and unsure when quarterback Derek Carr will be able to play again following his oblique injury during the club's third straight loss.

Carr left Monday night's loss at Kansas City with a left oblique injury, and coach Dennis Allen did not provide any medical updates on Tuesday when he spoke with reporters after analyzing video of New Orleans' latest setback.

Carr pledged that he’d do everything he could to be ready by this Sunday, but the NFL Network has reported that Carr is expected to miss miss multiple games.

In Carr's absence, the Saints could start either Jake Haener, a 2023 fourth-round draft pick out of Fresno State, or rookie Spencer Rattler, a fifth-round draft choice out of South Carolina.

Rattler has yet to play a snap in a regular-season game.

Haener has had mop-up duty several times and came in for Carr late in the fourth quarter against Kansas City, completing 2 of 7 passes for 17 yards.

Allen said Haener “did fine,” considering the circumstances.

“He was under duress a lot,” Allen said. “It got to that point in the game where they were kind of cutting loose on the pass rush. I don’t think there were a lot of opportunities for him.”

While the 26-13 score in Kansas City represented New Orleans' first loss by more than three points this season, it also belied how dominant the defending champion Chiefs really were — despite some key injuries of their own.

The Saints possessed the ball for a mere one-third of the game (20:04), were more than doubled up in total yards (460 to 220) and had half as many first downs (14) as the Chiefs did (28).

“Obviously we played a good football team in a hostile environment and we didn't fare well," Allen said. “That just tells us we've got a lot of work to do.”

While Allen said the whole club was frustrated over its "lack of ability to really get anything going offensively," the third-year Saints coach stopped short of foreshadowing significant personnel changes in Week 6.

The coaching staff needs to consider: “What's our part in that?” Allen said. "How can we put our guys in better positions to have success?”

One thing Allen wants to avoid is a locker room full of disgruntled players who start pointing fingers and fracturing.

“We've just got to stick together as a group," Allen said. “The only way you can turn things around is to be a united front.”

New Orleans' defense has remained pretty resilient in the red zone, holding Kansas City to just two TDs on seven possessions that ended at or inside the Saints 20-yard line. The other five red-zone possessions resulted in four field goals and an interception.

The Saints' running game, which averaged 185 yards in Weeks 1 and 2, hit its lowest point this season at Kansas City, gaining a meager 46 yards on 15 carries.

Defensive tackle Khalen Saunders had a strong showing in his second game this season since returning from a calf injury. His highlights included his first career interception on a tipped ball in New Orleans' end zone. Saunders not only stopped Kansas City from scoring, but also returned the ball 37 yards to ignite a touchdown drive that briefly pulled the Saints within a field goal in the second half.

Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak might have been the most popular person in New Orleans through Week 2, when the Saints had scored 91 points and had blown out their first two opponents.

Since then, his offense has sputtered.

His game plans might have been hampered by multiple injuries on the offensive line. In any event, scoring has plummeted to an average of 16.3 points per game during New Orleans' three-game skid.

“It’s a difficult thing to do to have that many changes on your offensive line," Allen said. "And yet, we’ve got to figure out ways that we can still move the ball.”

In addition to Carr, the Saints lost safety Will Harris to a hamstring injury.

It remains unclear how soon versatile tight end Taysom Hill might return from a rib injury. Linebacker Pete Werner (hamstring) also did not travel for Monday night's game.

29 — The difference between the number of offensive plays run by the Chiefs (80) and the Saints (51) on Monday night.

The Saints return to New Orleans for a pair of home games in the span of five days. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who traveled to New Orleans on Tuesday to escape the path of Hurricane Milton, play at the Superdome on Sunday.

Former Saints coach Sean Payton — the only coach to bring New Orleans a Super Bowl title — brings Denver into the dome on the following Thursday night.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr speaks during a news conference following an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

New Orleans Saints quarterback Jake Haener (3) drops back to pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

New Orleans Saints tight end Foster Moreau, left, catches a touchdown pass as Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Leo Chenal (54) defends during the second half of an NFL football game Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen pauses during a news conference following an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. The Chiefs won 26-13. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Banged up, slumping Saints now face uncertainty at QB as they try to end a 3-game skid

Banged up, slumping Saints now face uncertainty at QB as they try to end a 3-game skid

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr (4) throws over Kansas City Chiefs nose tackle Mike Pennel (69) during the first half of an NFL football game Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Major League Baseball announced Tuesday it will produce and distribute local broadcasts for the Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins next year. All three teams had contracts with Diamond Sports Group that expired at the end of the regular season.

The Texas Rangers, whose deal also expired last month, also announced they will no longer be partnering with Diamond. They are assessing their options for next season.

The addition of the Guardians, Brewers and Twins means MLB will be handling the production and distribution of at least six teams going into 2025.

MLB took over broadcasts of the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks during the 2023 season and the Colorado Rockies this year.

Rick Schlesinger, the president of business operations for the Brewers, said he expects more teams could be partnering with MLB by the opening of next season.

“This has been a long process. It’s a very deliberative process," he said. "We’ve done this through a lot of work, a lot of analysis. I think this is going to be a huge game changer for us, for our content.”

By taking over the broadcasts, MLB expects to increase the market reach of its teams by at least 2 million households in each market. The Diamondbacks went from being available in 930,000 households on a regional sports network to 5.6 million homes through a combination of being on local cable systems, satellite and direct-to-consumer streaming.

“With the media landscape continuing to evolve, Major League Baseball is committed to serving our fans by ensuring they can see their favorite clubs, removing blackouts where we can, and ultimately growing the reach of our games,” Noah Garden, MLB deputy commissioner for business and media, said in a statement.

The Twins took a public relations hit in Minnesota for cutting their 2024 player payroll coming off a division title and their first postseason series win in 22 years, in light of the reduced rights fee coming from Diamond. They will lose the rights fee altogether with this MLB-produced model, but team president Dave St. Peter said this announcement would not have an effect on player spending for the upcoming season.

“We’ve spent a tremendous amount of time with Major League Baseball trying to better understand this marketplace, trying to better understand what a model like this will ultimately provide to the team. We also have studied closely what’s happened in San Diego, in Arizona and in Colorado. We’ve gotten comfortable in those economics. They are where they are," St. Peter said.

"We do expect that there will be a reduction in local revenue coming to the Twins in 2025. I think that’s a fact. That said, over the long haul we have tremendous confidence in our content and believe, while maybe we’ll take a dip for ’25, that over time the viewership and those economics related to that viewership will increase.”

Cleveland games were available on approximately 1.45 million households on its regional sports network. That reach is expected to increase 235% to 4.86 million households. Minnesota's will go up 307% from 1.08 million homes to 4.4 million.

Schlesinger said the Brewers had 800,000 households that could receive games this past season, but he also expects to see significant growth with the new model.

“From a fan perspective, it’s great because you’re going to have total access and no blackouts," he said. “There’s a lot of staffing, a lot of infrastructure, a lot of decisions have to be made, a lot of people to be hired, a lot of sponsors to contact. This is the right time to do this. It’s a good jumping point, platform to make sure when the calendar turns to 2025, we’re already fully immersed in this and that we know when the first game starts, that we’re ready to go and the product’s going to be outstanding.”

MLB could be taking over more teams as Diamond Sports Group continues to go through bankruptcy proceedings. The nation's largest owner of regional sports networks could be down to doing only Atlanta Braves games in 2025.

The operator of the Bally Sports regional networks presented its reorganization plan in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston last week. As part of the reorganization, Diamond plans to void the contracts of the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays and to attempt to rework the deals of the five franchises that are partial owners of their regional sports networks — the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals.

St. Peter said he expects more teams to sign onto the model in the future.

“Starting to build that direct-to-consumer foundation, which clearly is the future of the way our games will be distributed — it’s time to get on with that and we’re excited about that,” St. Peters said. “Our ownership understands the consequences of that, but I think over time there’s way more upside than short-term downside.”

A final hearing on Diamond's reorganization plan is scheduled for Nov. 14. Diamond also has the rights to 13 NBA and eight NHL teams.

Diamond Sports Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group bought the regional sports networks from The Walt Disney Co. for nearly $10 billion in 2019. Disney was required by the Department of Justice to sell the networks for its acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s film and television assets to be approved.

AP sports writers Dave Campbell in Minneapolis and Steve Megargee in Milwaukee contributed to this story.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

FILE - A fan takes photos during the seventh inning of a baseball game between the Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

The Cleveland Guardians hold a baseball workout in Cleveland, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in preparation for the American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Bally reporter, Hanna Yates, broadcasts her pregame with fans standing behind her waiting for autographs before the start of a baseball game between the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jason Allen)

MLB will air local games for Guardians, Brewers and Twins beginning next season

MLB will air local games for Guardians, Brewers and Twins beginning next season