Tampa Bay Buccaneers rival New Orleans Saints suffer big setback

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been kings of the NFC South for the last four years, and the race from the rest of the division to dethrone them took a hit on Friday.

The New Orleans Saints haven't been able to get the best of the Buccaneers for some time, with the Bucs going 5-1 against New Orleans since 2022, but their attempts to dethrone Tampa Bay will be much harder. NFL reporter Ian Rapoport reported on Friday that Saints quarterback Derek Carr is suffering from a shoulder injury that could keep him out for the entirety of the 2025 NFL season.

Carr was the quarterback to defeat the Bucs for that one Saints win, coming at the end of the 2023 season. The team is 1-1 against him when he's at the helm in New Orleans, defeating him in Week 4 and then losing to him in Week 17. Tampa Bay didn't play Carr at all in 2024 -- he suffered from an oblique injury before he could play the Bucs the first time in New Orleans in Week 6, and a broken wrist kept him out of the Saints' Week 17 game in Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers won both of those games, besting signal caller Spencer Rattler.

As it stands, the Buccaneers could be facing Rattler once again for both contests in 2025 -- unless New Orleans can sign a veteran quarterback or draft a rookie to play for them this year. Until that happens, they'll be monitoring Carr's new situation.