The New Orleans Saints aren’t yet ready to turn to their highest-drafted quarterback in decades.
Spencer Rattler was selected Tuesday as the team’s starter for the regular-season opener against the Arizona Cardinals, first-year coach Kellen Moore announced, with the second-year signal-caller beating out rookie Tyler Shough for the role.
Rattler and Shough seemed to remain even with one another throughout most of the summer, with the two splitting first-team reps in training camp practices as Jake Haener, who was waived Tuesday, loomed as a wild card. Rattler started the preseason opener against the Los Angeles Chargers while Shough opened the second contest against the Jacksonville Jaguars, with each producing mixed results and faring better in work with backups. Rattler, however, earned the nod for the finale against the Denver Broncos.
‘He’s done an awesome job this offseason,’ Moore said in a news conference Tuesday while announcing Rattler as the starter. ‘He’s just been consistent. He’s made some really good decisions throughout this whole entire process, and his ability to make plays with his arm and feet have certainly shown up.
‘I’m really, really excited about Spencer. He’s earned this opportunity and going to do a tremendous job for us.’
Moore said after the second preseason game that he wanted to give the two passers as many reps as possible before making a decision given each one’s youth. But with Week 1 drawing near and New Orleans standing alone as the only team yet to make clear its starting quarterback, Moore opted for the more experienced presence behind center.
A fifth-round pick out of South Carolina in 2024, Rattler started six games for the Saints as a rookie while stepping in for injured veteran Derek Carr. Mounting offensive injuries, however, left Rattler with little support, especially in a receiving corps that was without starters Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed throughout most of the season. Rattler was at the helm when the Saints became the lone team in 2024 to be shut out in a 34-0 drumming by the Green Bay Packers in Week 17, and he finished the year with 1,317 passing yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions.
Yet while many presumed the starting job would belong to Shough once Carr retired this offseason in the wake of the fallout from his right shoulder injury, Rattler demonstrated enough to hold onto his position atop the depth chart – for now.
Shough, who was the No. 40 overall selection in April’s draft, became the Saints’ highest-selected quarterback since Archie Manning went No. 2 overall to the franchise in 1971. Set to turn 26 in September, he actually is exactly one year older than Rattler despite his delayed arrival to the NFL. His nomadic college career featured three years apiece at Oregon and Texas Tech, with injuries derailing each stint. In his final year after transferring to Louisville, however, the 6-5, 219-pound passer revived his career and re-emerged as a coveted prospect, eventually becoming the third quarterback selected in his class.
Shough, however, will begin his career in New Orleans on the bench, leaving No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward of the Tennessee Titans as the only rookie quarterback set to start in the NFL in Week 1.
‘I’m a big believer in the importance of developing quarterbacks – developing them the right way,’ Moore said. ‘There’s a process for both of the guys, giving them the space to develop. We think we have two guys who will have great careers for us.’