Shortly before the Saints’ regular season started, Spencer Rattler won the competition for the starting quarterback position. The second-year passer narrowly edged rookie Tyler Shough for the gig.
Rattler took over from an injured Derek Carr last season. He lost all seven of his starts upon doing so, leading to questions about his upside at the NFL level. The former fifth-rounder nevertheless appears to have a long leash atop the depth chart under new head coach Kellen Moore. The Saints are not expected to replace Rattler quickly, according to Sportskeeda’s Tony Pauline, and will instead “give him as much opportunity as possible until he proves incapable of handling the starting spot.”
Rattler seemed to clear that relatively low bar in Week 1. His official stat line was unspectacular – 26 completions on 47 attempts (56.7%) for 214 yards – but his 77.3 grade from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked 12th among all quarterbacks in Week 1. Crucially, he didn’t turn the ball over and only took one sack on 14 pressures. The Saints will be hoping that Rattler can improve over the course of the season, but they seem more interested in establishing a solid floor for their offense rather than boosting its ceiling.
New Orleans’ willingness to stick with Rattler may also betray their plans for the future. Despite drafting Shough (and giving him a fully guaranteed rookie contract) this offseason, the Saints are “already playing for next year’s draft,” per Pauline. Players were surprised that the team didn’t pursue a veteran quarterback to stabilize their offense before the season and remain unsold on Moore’s vision for the future.
Those are further indications that the team was not prepared for Carr’s retirement and may be punting on the 2025 season to build for the future. Given the Saints’ annual battle with the salary cap, accepting a reset year or two to straighten out their finances and quarterback situation might be the best path forward.
As for Shough, he can still develop as a rookie and push to start in 2026, especially if the Saints can’t land their desired quarterback prospect in the draft. Obviously, getting on the field this year would give him a better shot at securing a long-term starting job. Even if that doesn’t work out, his $2.7MM APY isn’t a bad price for a backup quarterback.
Shough can sit and develop as a rookie? Dude will be collecting AARP next season he is so old
Shough isn’t even a year older than Jordan Love. It’s wild.
Crazy but true…shocker….
I remain confused why they didn’t just plan on starting Rattler and likely drafting a better prospect than either of them with a high pick next year in a deeper quarterback class.
That would make total sense….It’s not as if they were going to really compete much this year….so if Rattler was snake bit….no huge loss. When you over/under is about 5 wins…..A Floor is the last thing you should be looking at. Rather how create a strong future foundation.
Yeah, that second rounder could have been used on trying to find a good future starter at another position, especially when the Saints still have a lot of old starters. Starting Rattler is a bit like when Washington started Howell for a year. Either a guy who was once heralded turns out to be good when given a chance or he helps you tank (and possibly shows himself to be a decent future backup). I never thought Shough was particularly a better prospect than Rattler. Worth a look, but in the second? No thanks.
I’d argue that there isn’t enough talent on the roster to worry about taking a qb next year either. Just let the Rattler and Shough battle for the right to be the long term #2 qb to whoever they draft in 2027 or 2028. Use the next couple years to reset cap issues and add talent elsewhere.
I get where you’re coming from, but I think if you’re ever in position to take a quarterback you really think is That Level of quarterback prospect, you have to do it. People made that point about New England last year, and it was definitely the right call to take Maye. You never know when you might be waiting to take a top quarterback prospect in a year when one won’t actually be available to you. Also New Orleans has a fair amount of offensive line talent and some good pass catchers, so it’s not like they would be dropping a quarterback into the worst situation.
It’s not off the table