New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler was benched during the third quarter in favor of former Fresno State passer Jake Haener during Sunday’s 26-8 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Saints initially chose to roll with Rattler over Haener when starting quarterback Derek Carr went down withy an injury earlier in the season, but they may be rethinking things with the way the rookie has struggled.
The performance he put on in his latest showing was unconvincing, as he went 12-of-24 passing for 155 yards.
In a way, it’s hard to blame Rattler for some of his issues because of how thin the Saints currently are at wide receiver, the way he was thrown into the fire as a rookie without warning and the countless other problems out of his control that the Saints need to remedy.
“I think we were moving the ball at a good rate in the first half and then a little bit in that second half,” Rattler said after the game. “We would go forward and then backward. Forward and backward. So, we all shot ourselves in the foot a little bit just with the little things and the way we played just didn’t win the game.”
Specifically on being benched, Rattler isn’t focused on the decision and it doesn’t seem to be getting to him personally.
“I control the controllables and I’m just a team guy, so I’m going to want us to win either way. So, it is what it is,” Rattler added.
It will be interesting to watch what the Saints do moving forward at quarterback with a matchup against the Carolina Panthers set for Noon CT/1 p.m. ET on Nov. 3 in Charlotte.
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