Spencer

Rattler

Loomis’ words came the same presser he later claimed Derek Carr (shoulder) remains the starter if healthy. If Carr is conveniently deemed unhealthy, that would leave only Shough and Spencer Rattler, which would be a fight rigged in Shough’s favor. His only real concern is the team and Carr patching up their differences, but that does not seem terribly likely at the moment. 25-year-old second-rounder Shough probably has better than 50 percent odds of being under center Week 1.

Schefter’s read of the situation is that the Saints don’t want to pull the plug on the Carr contract because it would only save them a couple of million dollars. While that isn’t the entire truth — they could slap a post-June 1 tag on Carr’s release and save $30 million this year while spreading his cap hit to 2026 — it is notable that one of the most-sourced reporters in the industry doesn’t bring up that possibility. Carr would be an uninspiring low-end QB2 for the 2025 season should he remain in New Orleans, even under an actual offensive-minded coach like Kellen Moore.

Rattler was not expected to play in 2024, but with the injuries to Derek Carr, the fifth-round pick ended up playing in seven games while throwing for 1,317 yards and a 4/5 TD/INT ratio. The former Oklahoma and South Carolina quarterback showed some flashes, but he didn’t look like the long-term answer at quarterback, either. He’ll likely be a backup to Carr — assuming Carr is back, of course — and isn’t likely to be a fantasy-relevant quarterback next year.

It’s looking plausible — maybe even likely — that Carr is going to miss another game to end a disastrous season for the Saints. If the 33-year-old veteran does miss that Week 18 game against the Buccaneers it’ll be Spencer Rattler getting another start.

According to Rizzi, Carr was held out of Week 17 after they determined he wasn’t far enough in his recovery to play when they ran simulated game situations. Carr suffered a nasty hand injury in the Saints Week 14 win over the Giants and has been sidelined ever since. While the team continues to treat his situation as one he could play through, there’s little reason for the team to put him on the field given their 5-11 record and the fact Week 18’s game is little more than a formality at this point. If he can’t start, Spencer Rattler would most likely get the nod in the season finale. Rattler threw for 218-1-2 against the Raiders and won’t be on the fantasy radar for anyone still playing out the final week.

Rattler was let down by his receivers on a few easy drops but also made a handful of bad throws and looked flustered in the pocket often. He did take shots down the field often, and his biggest pass play was on a trick play where he hit Foster Moreau for a 30-yard touchdown. However, he does not look like an NFL starting quarterback and should not be played in fantasy leagues next week against a Bucs team that will likely need to win to make the playoffs.

Rizzi said that he was “hoping” Carr would be able to go this week, and that they’ll simulate what a game would be like for him and see how Carr responds. However, the revealing answer was when he told reporters that Rattler will take reps with the 1s until Carr is able to come back. That makes it sound like there’s no firm plan for Carr to be back just yet. Rattler will remain a bottom barrel superflex bench player in Carr’s absence, though a game against the Raiders has the potential to get him to a borderline superflex QB2.

Rattler and the Saints got completely manhandled by the Packers in what would become the first shutout of the 2024 NFL season. While Rattler was far from sharp in this one, he was commanding an offense without its top four primary skill position players with all of Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Alvin Kamara, and Taysom Hill out of action. The Saints managed to possess the ball for only 22:47 in game time while Rattler also lost a fumble on a play that mirrored something you would see in Pop Warner. The future of the franchise remains uncertain as they limp towards the end of the regular season, but it is fair to question whether the Saints whiffed on Rattler in this year’s NFL Draft.

It’s the least surprising football news we’ll hear all week. Just days after benching Jake Haener for an atrocious half of football, the Saints have decided it would be best to start Rattler in Monday night’s game against the Packers. Rattler had an up-and-down outing in the two quarters he played against the Commanders but nearly mounted a comeback win in the fourth quarter when he threw a touchdown to Foster Moreau as time expired. A failed two-point conversion attempt ultimately sealed the Saints’ fate in the 20-19 defeat, but Rattler was unquestionably the best available quarterback for the Saints last week. Fantasy managers in traditional 1QB leagues can ignore Rattler, but he may have some viability for those in 2QB/Superflex leagues.

The Saints have continued to dance around the situation by calling Carr “week to week” but this is no minor injury and it would legitimately be surprising if Carr played again in the 2024 season. Nick Underhill reported that Spencer Rattler will get another start this week after coming off the bench and handily outperforming (a low bar) Jake Haener in Week 15.