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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Darrion Gray

No quit in 5-10 Saints: ‘There’s a lot of guys who are playing for something’

The New Orleans Saints have no shot of making the playoffs, so some may feel the team has nothing to play for. But interim head coach Darren Rizzi pushed back on that narrative.

You may see that as something he has to do. You wouldn’t be wrong, but Rizzi isn’t being facetious when he says, “There’s a lot of guys who are playing for something.”

Spencer Rattler, Kendre Miller, Alontae Taylor and Kool-Aid McKinstry are some of the best examples of players who are playing for something to close out the season.

Those are the types of players Rizzi described: “We have a lot of younger players playing right now.” At this point, the Saints are looking, “To be able to evaluate those guys from the quarterback right on through the rest of the positions.”

Rattler is looking to make a mark that he can still be viewed as a developmental quarterback. Can Miller be the compliment the Saints need to Kamara and possibly take the reigns in the future? Are Taylor and McKinstry the young cornerbacks who will lead New Orleans to a new era?

Next year’s coach will look at these games to determine how he wants to construct next year’s roster. Many players don’t have the luxury of mailing it in despite the playoffs being out of reach.

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