Another rookie quarterback is getting his first NFL start after New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen announced Spencer Rattler will start Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Allen’s usual starter, Derek Carr, injured an oblique in the Saints’ loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on “Monday Night Football,” and he won’t be ready to face their NFC South rival.
When Carr went down, it wasn’t Rattler who was backing him up in Kansas City. Jake Haener entered the game instead, and Rattler was the emergency third quarterback.
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New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler during warmups before a game against the Tennessee Titans at Caesars Superdome. (Stephen Lew/USA Today Sports)
But Allen and the Saints want to see what the rookie can do after a solid preseason.
Rattler went 20-for-38 for 202 yards and one touchdown pass during the preseason, and the team liked his performance. But Rattler took a backseat behind Haener.
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Rattler was a fifth-round pick by the Saints in this year’s draft, and he will become the fifth rookie quarterback to start a game this year. Fellow rookie Drake Maye, the third overall pick, will be the fourth rookie to start after the New England Patriots announced their own quarterback change.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler (18) reacts to throwing a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans during the first half at Caesars Superdome. (Stephen Lew/USA Today Sports)
The Chicago Bears’ Caleb Williams, Washington Commanders’ Jayden Daniels and Denver Broncos’ Bo Nix all started the season as their respective teams’ starting quarterbacks.
A five-star prospect coming out of high school in Arizona, Rattler was a projected first-round pick in the NFL Draft. But he had a rough start in college at Oklahoma before eventually losing his starting job to Williams under head coach Lincoln Riley.
That prompted Rattler to transfer to South Carolina, where he threw for 6,212 yards, 37 touchdowns and 20 interceptions in 25 games.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler during the third quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium. (Kyle Terada/Imagn Images)
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Rattler will get a chance to prove himself on the NFL stage, and the Saints are hoping not to drop a fourth straight game since starting the season 2-0.
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