Saints' Derek Carr Would Be 'a Surprise' to Play vs. Bucs with Shoulder Injury

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr is expected to be "week-to-week" with a shoulder injury.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the Saints are expected to "play it safe" with the quarterback against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4, and it would be a "surprise" if he played.

Head coach Dennis Allen said Carr sprained his AC joint.

"We'll evaluate him as he goes throughout the week this week," Allen said. "I think we dodged a bullet there in terms of anything of real significance. I think we are kind of saying 'week-to-week,' but he felt better today than he did yesterday, so we're not making any decisions today, we're not ruling anything out. We'll see where he's at as the week goes on."

Carr left the Saints' Week 3 game early with the injury. He left the game with the team leading 17-0, but the Saints would surrender 18 points in the fourth quarter to lose to the Green Bay Packers.

Carr was 13-of-18 for 103 yards and a touchdown before departing.

Carr was transported to a local hospital but ultimately did fly home with the team, per Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com. His camp was notably fortunate that the injury occurred on a natural grass field like Lambeau Field, stating that it "probably made the difference" between a minor and major injury.

The four-time Pro Bowler has thrown for 636 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions thus far into the season. He has been a stable presence for a Saints team with legitimate aspirations to win the NFC South and seeing him miss significant time could be a huge blow going forward.

While it is unknown if the Saints signal-caller will be Carr or Winston in Week 4, the team can still breathe a sigh of relief that the injury is not as serious as it could have been.