The on-field incident quickly made rounds on social media
Saints offensive lineman Erik McCoy lit into New Orleans quarterback Derek Carr during the team’s Week 14 struggle against the woeful Carolina Panthers. It was caught on camera during the FOX Sports broadcast and quickly gained the attention of football fans on social media.
Carr, however, brushed off the incident. The veteran signal-caller said he and McCoy talked with one another on the bench and each apologized.
“We both had our reasons. We were both right for an aspect, we were both wrong for an aspect. But that’s not the only time that’s ever happened with me and a player, an offensive lineman, a center. That stuff happens,” Carr told reporters, per the team.
“Those moments are gonna happen. You’re gonna have conflict sometimes, confrontation. Always circle back. So we went and circled back, we looked at each other (and we) both smiled because we both already knew.”
You can watch it here.
Carr said he understood how it might look on TV, and acknowledged the public perception. But confirmed the public perception doesn’t matter if those inside the locker room are fine.
“With all the cameras around that stuff gets caught sometimes. But there is no problem. It’s all good,” Carr said.
He added: “Me and Erik have no issue. In the moment, something happened. The reason doesn’t matter. Everyone wants to know the reason, everybody wants to know the why. It doesn’t matter. We were both right, we were both wrong. At the same time, we both were like, ‘My bad.’ He was like, ‘My bad, my bad.’ And that was it.”
Carr and the Saints were able to move past it given they scored 14 fourth-quarter points en route to a 28-6 victory over the Panthers. It snapped a three-game losing skid for the Saints, who remain in the mix in the NFC South.