More on the #Saints’ QB situation: Rookie fifth-rounder Spencer Rattler is a strong candidate to get the start in Derek Carr’s absence, sources tell me and @RapSheet.
With Drake Maye getting the ball for the #Patriots, that would make five rookie QBs to get a start this year. pic.twitter.com/QCk6CvxS8x
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) October 8, 2024
Now this is interesting. After reporting that New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr is expected to miss multiple games with an oblique injury, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport added that rookie passer Spencer Rattler “is a strong candidate to get the start” while Carr is on the mend.
That’s surprising given Jake Haener, not Rattler, has been the initial backup for Carr all season. Whether it’s mop-up duty or relief for an injury, it’s been Haener going into games whenever Carr has stepped out. But this might suggest offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak would rather go with Rattler if he’s given a full week of practice reps to prepare for a matchup.
And that would make sense. No one questions whether Rattler is the most talented passer out of the three. The concerns surround his inexperience. Two of the game’s most aggressive defensive coordinators are waiting for him in Todd Bowles (with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Vance Joseph (on the Denver Broncos), so that would be an uphill battle for anyone, especially a rookie making his first two starts. The Saints drafted Rattler in the fifth round this year out of South Carolina.
We’ll see what happens. Rattler and Haener are both viable options, but that also means neither is overwhelmingly favored to a point where it’s an easy call to make. A bad experience out of the gate could doom a quarterback’s career before it starts. Just look at what happened to Carr’s older brother on the Houston Texans way back when.
