Saints QB Derek Carr responds to insults from ex-teammate who claimed he is putting his receivers in danger

In the aftermath of a serious injury in the game between the New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers, an ex-Saints wide receiver slammed quarterback Derek Carr on social media.

Carr threw a so-called “hospital pass” that put Saints receiver Chris Olave directly into the path of Panthers safety Xavier Woods – who hit the receiver on the neck and shoulders – while also taking a hit from behind by cornerback Michael Jackson. Olave was taken from the field after lying motionless for some time.

That led former Saints receiver Michael Thomas to accuse Carr of endangering Olave, saying Carr needs his “a** whooped.”

After the game – in which the Saints lost 23-22 to the struggling Panthers – Carr took issue with Thomas, saying he was the one teammate he never got along with.

“I’ve had so many teammates over the years and he’s the only guy who didn’t get along with me,” Carr said. ‘And I don’t know what I did to him.

‘I don’t know why he feels that way. I’m sorry for whatever he’s dealing with that makes him feel like he has to. Don’t know. But he never called me through all of this.

‘My telephone number has never changed. I actually called him several times. Just to try. And sometimes you can try as hard as you want, but it just doesn’t work out. And that’s okay, so I don’t know why he feels that way.

‘I didn’t see it. I won’t see it. Because I always ignore everything, good and bad. I try to ignore everything. It’s a shame. Especially if you come from such a player. But I wish him the best. I hope he gets on a team and does what he wants to do and enjoys it.”

Carr added: “It’s just something I would never do to a teammate. Since it was single high, the ball went to the spot we talked about and unfortunately Chris got hit in the head.

‘That happens in our game, and I would never do it on purpose. I didn’t give him a bad look. … When it comes to the football aspect of it, I really don’t have an answer for it. But when it comes to the person, I hope he gets what he’s looking for.”

Carr also told reporters that he feels “stomach ache” when one of his receivers gets hurt.

‘[If] what he’s looking for is to blame me for hurting Chris Olave, he can blame me,” Carr said. “It’s not going to change my day.

“Every time one of my teammates goes down, I get a pit in my stomach because I love them so much. It doesn’t matter if I like them or not. And I happen to love Chris Olave. We have a great relationship, so every time that happens I feel sick and I hate – hate, and I don’t use that word often – but I hate moments like that.

“So to be clear, I hate that it’s happening. It makes me sick every time that happens, whether they don’t get up or they do get up. I don’t like that. You do your best to never put someone in that situation.

“And over the course of my career, it hasn’t happened that often. …I’m sorry I even had to answer these questions. I wish we could have made it better. I wish it had never happened. I wish I could have made Mike happier. But it’s hard to do.’

Thomas posted an angry series of tweets in the immediate aftermath of the goal as Olave was led to the dressing room.

“Dude scary and panicking and just throwing the ball,” Thomas said in the first of a series of tweets directed at Carr. “Get him out of here, you’re so scared.”

Another tweet from Thomas said, “Dude tried to lie and say I was jealous because they made Chris WR1 all the time, he couldn’t even get a decent ball. He needs his cry.”

A third tweet read: “They fired all those coaches who tried to cover up his shortcomings but he still does the same things.”

Thomas I then posted a videoapparently from Mexico, with the caption “Even [Mexican flag emoji] know what’s going on.” In the video, a man in a car is heard asking another man his opinion of Carr, to which the man replied, “I don’t like him… he doesn’t know how to play.”

The final tweet in Thomas’ barrage referenced Davante Adams — who was one of Carr’s receivers when they both played on the Las Vegas Raiders: “That year his buddy [Adams] In 2022 he became 1st team, all pro. He needed 180 targets to catch 100 passes. He’s a**.”

Chris Olave’s brother Josh Olave quote tweeted one of Thomas’ tweets with two “100” emojis. He also responded to a tweet asking if Josh and Chris should have a conversation about “is it worth it” – to which Josh replied, “It’s not worth it in Nola, I’ll tell you.”

After the incident, Chris Olave took to

This is the fourth concussion in Olave’s professional career. His first came in Week 5 of his rookie season when he caught a pass from then-quarterback Andy Dalton against the Seattle Seahawks.

Last season, Olave suffered another concussion on a pass attempt by Carr in Week 12 against the rival Atlanta Falcons.

This year, prior to Sunday’s game, Olave had already suffered one concussion after catching a pass from backup quarterback Spencer Rattler against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6.

As for Thomas, he hasn’t been picked up by an NFL team since he was released from the Saints after the 2023 season after eight seasons in New Orleans. For one of them, he was only teammates with Carr.

Thomas suffered a season-ending injury in November 2023 after catching a pass from Carr. In January he would say that he had been ‘trapped by a bad ball’.

After winning their first two games of the season, the Saints lost seven games in a row, including three games against division rivals. They’ll look to finally snap that skid at home when they host fellow NFC South foe, the Atlanta Falcons.