New Orleans Saints Will Start Rookie Quarterback this Week

The New Orleans Saints are preparing to play a very important NFC South game this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Saints are a game behind the Bucs and the Atlanta Falcons coming into this week, and these early season games can have a huge impact on the final standings.

With all of that importance on the game, the Saints will be playing from behind (metaphorically) before the game even starts. Their starting quarterback Derek Carr will be unavailable for the Saints, which means they're turning to a rookie. Jumping right past second-year quarterback Jake Haener, the Saints will start rookie Spencer Rattler.

Rattler was a 5th round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the 150th overall pick. But he was actually just the 7th quarterback drafted. Almost instantly, fans got excited about the idea that the Saints were able to bring Rattler in for just a 5th round pick.

There was a point in Rattler's college career where he was a Heisman Trophy favorite and projected as a top pick in the NFL Draft. But his time at Oklahoma didn't got as planned. Eventually, he left the program and transferred to South Carolina.

Once he arrived at South Carolina, he was able to help reinvigorate some of the hype he once had. He threw for over 3,000 yards in both of his seasons with the Gamecocks, and tossed over 17 touchdowns both seasons too. He also rushed for 7 touchdowns in his South Carolina career.

At the end of his college career, he had a 28-14 record, with over 10,000 passing yards, 77 touchdowns in the air, and 16 rushing touchdowns. While his work at South Carolina solidified that he would get a shot in the NFL, but it didn't earn him the first round projections he once had.

But Rattler's work in the preseason got fans even more excited about the idea of him being on the roster. In his three preseasons games, Rattler had a 52.6 completion percentage, 202 yards, and a touchdown...without any interceptions. While that doesn't sound like huge numbers, it was the way he played that got fans hyped.

So when the the news came down that Rattler would get the start in Carr's absence, there was actually a pretty positive response from Saints fans online.