Raiders: QB has fracture in back after taking hit in loss at Denver
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr will not play Sunday and could miss up to six weeks after a CT scan revealed a transverse process fracture in his back.
Oakland head coach Jack Del Rio made the announcement Monday not long after learning the severity of Carr’s injury. An MRI exam taken Sunday evening was inconclusive, and Carr was originally diagnosed with back spasms before a follow-up CT scan showed the fracture.
“I just got off the phone with him, and he said he’s sorry,” Del Rio said. “He’s a great kid. He’ll
bounce back. I told him that the team will take care of business when he’s healing. When he can come back, he’ll come back.”
Carr was injured late in the third quarter of Sunday’s 16-10 loss in Denver. Defensive lineman Shelby Harris sacked Carr, but it was defensive end Adam Gotsis whose knee appeared to hit the quarterback in his lower back while he was going down.
Carr was on his back for several moments as team trainers rushed to help. Carr later was helped to his feet and walked off the field gingerly while appearing to avoid twisting movements.
“At first initially, oh my gosh, what the heck, try to let as much of the pain wear off as you can,” Carr said of his immediate reaction. “I tried to come in there and let them work on it. I tried to throw. It just wasn’t ready yet. It wasn’t ready today.”
EJ Manuel (11-for-17, 106 yards) replaced Carr and led the Raiders to a field goal in the fourth quarter but threw an interception with 1:46 left after Oakland had driven to Denver’s 41.
Carr’s injury conjures up memories of Christmas Eve when he suffered a season-ending broken leg on a sack by Indianapolis linebacker Trent Cole.
That injury left Oakland’s offense rudder-less. The Raiders lost the following week to Denver — which cost them the AFC West title — then were bounced out in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
Del Rio said the Raiders are in a better position to handle Carr’s absence this time.
“There’s some definite positive, encouraging signs that we can build on,” Del Rio said of Manuel’s performance. “It’s always a big blow to lose a good player, a key player and your quarterback. But the good news is he’s not gone for the year. We’ll get him back. It could be as short as two weeks, it could be longer.”
Carolina quarterback Cam Newton and former Dallas quarterback Tony Romo each suffered similar injuries in 2014, although Newton’s was the result of a car accident. Each missed one game before returning.
While Carr recovers, Del Rio and his staff will try to heal a suddenly anemic offense that has been held to 10 points in each of the past two games after averaging 30.5 in the first two.
“We’re a better offensive unit than we’ve shown last two weeks,” Del Rio said. “I know that we have a good group of guys. We’re all going to work to get this right.
“For two weeks, we’ve stubbed a toe. Maybe more than a toe.” Injury report: Cornerback David Amerson is in concussion protocol. … Rookie defensive back Gareon Conley did not play Sunday because of his lingering shin injury. Del Rio said the plan is to have Conley work out in a limited fashion Wednesday, then go full in practice Thursday.