Saints quarterback Derek Carr has been officially declared inactive for New Orleans’ Thursday Night Football game against the Denver Broncos.

The Saints had already named rookie QB Spencer Rattler as a starter, but the official name was not announced until Thursday evening.

Carr suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of the 26-13 Week 5 road loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. He was taken back to the locker room but was unable to return to the match. Backup Jake Haener took his place for the remainder of the match.

Carr finished the game completing 18 of 28 passes for 165 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He revealed that he wanted to try to return to action before the end of the game, but the athletic training staff on hand did not want to release him, especially since it was already the second half.

Earlier in the week, it was reported that New Orleans is expected to be without Carr for three to four weeks due to his oblique injury, according to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports.

Naturally, the Saints will turn to Rattler, who will make his first NFL start against the Broncos on Thursday.

“It was exciting,” Rattler said this week after being named the starter, via the team’s website. “They have confidence in me, but I love our group. We have so many talented guys that I can lean on. And I don’t have to do too much, just facilitate the ball to them.

“I talked to (offensive coordinator) Klint (Kubiak) about it. Klint said let’s have a great week, let’s prepare at a high level, make a great plan. It was short and sweet and we got to work, so that was good.”

Kickoff between the Saints and Broncos is scheduled for 8:15 PM ET, live on Prime Video. It will be Broncos head coach Sean Payton’s first game back in New Orleans since his initial retirement in 2022.