Category: Spencer Rattler

WATCH: Spencer Rattler makes Saints history with his first NFL touchdown pass

Spencer Rattler threw his first NFL touchdown pass to another rookie, and it came when the team needed it most. It also made Saints history:

Take a bow, Spencer Rattler. The young quarterback threw his first NFL touchdown pass to another rookie, and it came when the team needed it most. Rattler swung a fastball to wide receiver Bub Means in the back of the end zone, giving the New Orleans Saints a lead over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Context makes the play even more impressive. The Saints fell into a 17-0 deficit early on after the Bucs scored a couple of touchdowns on their own, one of them off a fumble recovery, but New Orleans fought back. The defense took the ball away, Rashid Shaheed scored a long punt return touchdown, and when Rattler got in he took care of business, putting them on top 20-17.

It was the first time in Saints franchise history that a rookie quarterback’s first touchdown pass was thrown to another first-year pro in his first start. And it’s a good start to Rattler’s NFL story. Let’s see if he can keep it going.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

WATCH: Spencer Rattler’s first pass in the NFL goes for 27 yards

Spencer Rattler’s first pass in the NFL went for 27 yards. It would mean the world if the rookie can make some big plays and keep the Saints in games:

That’s a nice way to start your NFL career. Rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler took the field for the New Orleans Saints and made an immediate impact, throwing a dart to tight end Juwan Johnson downfield. Johnson made some moves after the catch and gained 27 yards on the play.

It’s good to see Rattler throwing to his big tight end early and often. Johnson went into Week 6’s game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers having totaled just 9 receptions for 70 yards; that’s an average of 7.8 yards per catch and only 14 yards per game. That’s a far cry from his breakout 2022 season or his strong finish in 2023. Offseason foot surgery had slowed him down but it’s not like Derek Carr was looking his way often, either.

The Saints are desperate for Rattler to make a spark. Carr is on the mend with an oblique muscle injury and the team is preparing for their rookie to start three or four games until he’s back. It would mean the world if Rattler can make some big plays and keep them in games, but if nothing else his success could keep fans engaged amid a tough-to-watch losing streak.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Legendary Saints QB reached out to Spencer Rattler ahead of NFL debut

As Spencer Rattler gets ready for his first NFL start, Saints legend Archie Manning reached out to him with an encouraging message:

Spencer Rattler is getting ready for his NFL debut against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Rattler’s week of preparation included a motivational text message from legendary former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning.

Manning knows what it’s like to be in this position. He made his first start as a rookie in 1971 with New Orleans. Manning’s message was simple: “He reached out a few days ago, just said he’s rooting for me.”

Rattler then went on to call Manning an awesome resource. This isn’t the first time he reached out to the young quarterback. Rattler said the Saints legend spoke with him after the draft to congratulate Rattler. This isn’t just because Rattler was picked by the Saints. Rattler impressed him at the 2022 Manning Passing Academy, and since meeting, that relationship has blossomed into something like a mentorship.

Rattler described it by saying, “We’ve created a great relationship over the last couple of years. He would always check up on me throughout the years after games.”

That’s a great resource to have in your corner. Let’s see if Rattler can make the most of this opportunity.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Rookie Saints QB reveals when he found out he’d be starting vs. Bucs

Derek Carr was injured Monday night, and it took less than 24 hours for Spencer Rattler to find out he’d be the starter in their next game:

Spencer Rattler will be the New Orleans Saints starting quarterback when the team faces off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and we have a new piece of the timeline that led up to the announcement.

Derek Carr went down with an oblique injury against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night. Dennis Allen announced Spencer Rattler would be the starter in Carr’s absence on Wednesday afternoon.

Rattler recently revealed he found out he would start the day before: “Found out Tuesday morning. It was exciting, they have confidence in me.”  That’s basically immediately after the game, which means they knew Carr’s injury was serious right away.

It could also be possible that Rattler was told he would start if Carr couldn’t play, while the team gathered more information on Carr’s health.

The most important thing that it tells you, however, is the Saints knew what direction they’d go if the situation arose. Being decisive was imperative in this case. Making the decision quick gave Rattler a week full of first team reps in practice.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

WATCH: Spencer Rattler’s best plays of the preseason

The Saints shared a highlight reel featuring Spencer Rattler’s best plays of the preseason. If you need a shot in the arm prior to Sunday’s game, watch this tape:


The New Orleans Saints fan base is excited for the debut of Spencer Rattler. This is probably the most excited the fan base has been in years. Rattler is a young quarterback with a skillset that feels like he can be a starter in this league moving forward. And quite frankly, some of the excitement derives from Derek Carr fatigue.

It’s for a slightly different reason that excitement level has spilled into the locker room. There’s belief in Rattler, and an intrigue on how the young player will perform. That is independent of Carr but still based on his skillset.

As Rattler prepares for his debut, the Saints official social media account posted the best plays we’ve seen from him thus far. It’s primarily passes but there are a couple of runs mixed in there. It isn’t a preseason highlight tape without showing Rattler run through a defender for a touchdown.
Rattler’s passing highlights are headlined by a back shoulder throw to Samson Nacua and a deep shot to now-Denver Bronco A.T. Perry.

If you need an extra shot in the arm prior to Sunday’s game, watch this tape.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Spencer Rattler-Chris Olave connection is one to watch vs. Buccaneers

Chris Olave only saw four targets last week. Expect Spencer Rattler to target Olave early and often in his NFL debut against the Buccaneers:

Spencer Rattler will make his NFL debut this week when the New Orleans Saints host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday. And when he takes the field he will be looking for the Saints’ lead receiver Chris Olave.

There have been many discussions about Olave’s usage in the Saints previous game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Olave only saw four targets, and one of them came from Jake Haener. The responsibility for this falls on both Derek Carr and Klint Kubiak.

Olave’s targets should jump on Sunday. This would have been the case regardless of who’s the quarterback, but it’s especially true with Rattler at the helm.

We didn’t see Rattler throw to Olave during the preseason, but both players spoke positively about each other this offseason. Olave praised Rattler’s arm talent during Saints training camp. After the announcement, Olave told NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill he was excited about what Rattler brings to the table.

Rattler even made a comment about targeting Olave: “I make it a key point when he’s in to get him the ball. It’s that simple.”

At the time, Rattler was speaking about practice. Now we get to see the connection in live action. Expect Rattler to target Olave early and often.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

PFF analyst highlights the difference between Spencer Rattler and Derek Carr

Spencer Rattler has one trait that Derek Carr lacked which could benefit the Saints offense. PFF’s Trevor Sikkema broke it down:

It wasn’t intentional, but in Pro Football Focus analyst Trevor Sikkema’s analysis of Spencer Rattler, he landed on one trait Rattler possesses that Derek Carr lacks. Rattler remains calm in the face of pressure and that should benefit the New Orleans Saints.

Sikkema joined ESPN’s Mina Kimes on her podcast, “The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny.” Both analysts looked at how poor South Carolina’s offensive line was during Rattler’s last two seasons. As PFF’s lead draft analyst, Sikkema discussed Rattler through the lens of a prospect. This is still fair as Rattler hasn’t taken a snap yet.

“That’s something I don’t think he got enough credit for. He stayed calm under a ton of pressure,” Sikkema said. The Saints offensive line is dealing with a lot of injuries, and that will naturally lead to some breakdowns during the game.

When those breakdowns occur, there’s trust Rattler won’t panic. That is a weakness of Carr’s. The interception on the first drive against the Chiefs is just one example of this.

To be crystal clear, Rattler possessing the trait doesn’t mean he’s a better quarterback than Carr. It’s a straightforward statement. Based on his experiences in college, Rattler may handle poor blocking better than Derek Carr has.

That could be by either still stepping into throws when possible, or escaping the pocket with his legs. Regardless of the method, poise under pressure will benefit Rattler and the Saints offense.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Dennis Allen explains why he’s starting a rookie QB after Derek Carr injury

Dennis Allen explains why he’s starting Spencer Rattler after Derek Carr injury: ‘In this particular game he gave us the best chance to win’

Dennis Allen delivered a bombshell on Wednesday when he announced that backup quarterback Spencer Rattler would take the reins from Derek Carr in Week 6’s game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The New Orleans Saints’ starter suffered a significant oblique muscle injury that’s going to keep him out for at least the next two games.

As to why the Saints are rolling with Rattler instead of the team’s other backup Jake Haener? Allen said that was a staff decision.

“We talked a lot as a staff about what we felt like was the best thing for us, and [anyclip-media thumbnail=”undefined” playlistId=”undefined” content=”dW5kZWZpbmVk”][/anyclip-media], that was the decision that we made. And we’re excited about him getting an opportunity to go in there, and  we’ll let him go play and see what he can do,” Allen said.

However, Allen kept his cards close to his vest in talking about what went into making this decision — as far as matchup preferences or the state of the offense given all of the injuries impacting the offensive line. Still, after meeting with his coaches, this was the course of action Allen felt was best for them this week.

“Internally we talked a lot about it and felt like in this particular game that he gave us the best chance to win,” Allen continued, “Both he and Jake have been practicing extremely hard, preparing to be the starter. It was kind of the conversation that we had at the beginning of the year, Jake would be the two to start but there wasn’t going to be any, basically, a kind of a week-to-week deal. And we just felt like, for this game, was going to give us the best opportunity.”

It’s surprising to see the Saints shift gears now after Rattler was inactive for each of their first four games. It was Haener going in each week whenever Carr missed time with an injury or the game’s result was put out of doubt. But Haener wasn’t drafted by this coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko, and their assistants made the decision to draft Rattler and now they want to see what he can do with a full week of practice under his belt.

That just might save Allen’s job. He’s led the team into a 2-3 record for the second time in three seasons as their head coach, and they need some kind of a spark to snap their three-game losing streak. If Rattler can navigate a muddy pocket and bounce back from the occasional negative play as well as he did at South Carolina, it would give the team some real hope for the future. He added that Rattler will have a bit of a long leash. Allen feels that the rookie needs to play if he’s going to learn and improve, and fearing he could be pulled out of the game after one or two mistakes wouldn’t be helpful.

But that still means he’s got to play better than he did in preseason. Few of Rattler’s opponents from those exhibition games are dressing out on Sundays, and those that are got the better of him in his second preseason matchup with the San Francisco 49ers. For now, all Rattler should worry about is studying and preparing for his next opponent so he can earn another opportunity after that.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Dennis Allen announces new starting quarterback for Week 6 vs. Bucs

Spencer Rattler will make his NFL debut as the starting quarterback for the New Orleans Saints this Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Spencer Rattler will make his NFL debut as the starting quarterback for the New Orleans Saints this Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. No sources needed here. Dennis Allen himself delivered the news during Wednesday’s presser.

When Derek Carr went down with an oblique injury, the first question was will he be healthy enough to play against the Buccaneers. That question was quickly answered. Carr is expected to miss multiple weeks due to the injury.

The second question was who would start in his place. Would it be Spencer Rattler or Jake Haener? We received that news just as quickly. That may be the most surprising part. Allen has kept many things close to the vest this year. It was shocking to see him announce this so quickly.

Rattler and Haener battled it out in a close competition during Saints training camp. Rattler seemingly pulled ahead during the final preseason game.

Rattler is the higher upside player, and if there was someone who would be the quarterback of the future on the roster, it’s him. He provides a mixture of arm talent and athleticism that’ll bring a different dynamic to the offense.

Let “The Agenda” begin.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Saints can no longer keep their opinion on young quarterbacks veiled

Dennis Allen will be forced into choosing between Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler after Derek Carr’s injury. He avoided a public decision after training camp:

Dennis Allen avoided saying who won the battle between Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler at New Orleans Saints training camp. Even Haener’s placement as Derek Carr’s backup doesn’t give a clear-cut answer. We’ve seen situations where the backup doesn’t take over in the following weeks, like when Taysom Hill stepped in for an injured Drew Brees rather than Jameis Winston.

With Carr expected to miss multiple weeks, the veil will be completely lifted on who they believe has the edge, because New Orleans won’t run a two-quarterback system. If the Saints truly think it’s an even race, they’ll have to make that tough decision. Allen will have to make a decision, and he’ll have to make it quick.

Neither Haener or Rattler have ever started a regular season game. Whoever is starting needs to take all the first team reps this week in practice. Competing throughout the week and sharing first team reps will ultimately do a disservice to the Week 6 starter.

This doesn’t mean Allen has to announce the decision. He actually will probably keep it to himself. Allen didn’t even want to say Will Harris will be the starting safety in Week 1 prior to the game. He’ll definitely keep the starting quarterback close to the vest. In this situation, it’s more understandable.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]