Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Crissy Froyd

Sean Payton sought out Spencer Rattler after Saints-Broncos game


Sean Payton is no stranger to the growing pains one goes through with rookie quarterbacks.

He’s in the midst of helping one currently in transition in Bo Nix, who has had some ups and downs in not only his first season in the NFL, but also his first year as an NFL starter.

New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler is also going through a bit of that himself, thrown to the wolves as a starter unexpectedly with veteran Derek Carr currently sidelined due to injury.

Payton made a point of going up to Rattler after the game, praising him for some of the poise he showed, despite the Saints coming out with far from the outcome they wanted in a 33-10 loss.

“You’ve got some moxie, man,” Payton said to Rattler.

Rattler was up against the odds with a poor offensive line performance and the loss of two of his top wideouts, Chris Olave (concussion) and Rashid Shaheed (knee).

He finished the game 25-of-35 passing for 172 yards, also with five carries for 34 yards. The former South Carolina quarterback didn’t get his team to the end zone and could hardly remain upright as he was sacked some six times.

There was some confusion on if Rattler was benched toward the end of the game when Jake Haener entered at quarterback, but it was later clarified the decision was made to save Rattler after he suffered from a “hip pointer” injury.

That’s probably a good call by the Saints with the way the injury bug has been just one of a wave of problems contributing to New Orleans’ fall from grace.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.