METAIRIE, Mo. — The New Orleans Saints will start rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, manager Dennis Allen announced Wednesday.
Rattler will start in place of Derek Carr, who suffered an oblique strain Monday against the Kansas City Chiefs. Allen said Kerr’s return will be determined on a “week-to-week basis” and that he will continue his early work if healthy.
“Overall, I think he’s OK, but I think he’s still disappointed not to be out here,” Allen said. “He hasn’t missed a lot of time and he’s a guy who doesn’t want to miss a lot of time, so I think that’s what’s frustrating about him.”
The Saints will play two games in five days — against Tampa Bay on Sunday and against the Denver Broncos on “Thursday Night Football” on Oct. 17.
Rattler, a 2024 fifth-round draft pick out of South Carolina, won the starting spot over second-year player Jake Hayner, but Allen declined to elaborate on why the team selected the rookie. There wasn’t.
“We talked about it a lot internally and felt he gave us the best chance to win in this game,” Allen said. “Both him and Jake have been practicing very hard, preparing to be starters. There was kind of a conversation at the beginning of the year that Jake was going to start at No. 2. … It really was. “It’s basically going to be a week-to-week deal, and we felt that was the best option for this game.”
The Saints’ offensive line has been shuffled in recent weeks due to injuries, with the starting center and right guard currently out of the lineup. The Saints started Connor McGovern, who was taken off the Jets’ practice squad last week, at center, moved Landon Young from tackle to guard, and placed Lucas Patrick at both center and guard.
When asked if the current state of the offensive line influenced his decision, Allen said Rattler’s ability to move around and scramble in the pocket was “part of it.”
“There were a lot of factors that went into it,” Allen said. “I definitely felt like he had some mobility.”
Allen said Rattler has been through a lot during his time at the University of Oklahoma and the University of South Carolina, and while he hasn’t played in the NFL yet, he has experience as a starter.
“He was tested in the fire and came out the other side,” Allen said. “We’re excited for him, we’re looking forward to watching him play, and it’s our responsibility as coaches to put him in the best position to be successful.”
The Saints had both Rattler and Hoehner listed as their No. 2 quarterbacks at the start of the season, and Allen said he hopes the competition continues throughout the season. Rattler has been inactive for five games as the team’s emergency third quarterback, and Hayner replaced Carr in the blowout win and loss to the Chiefs.
Allen said no decision has been made until this week about which quarterback will be the starter if Carr is out.
“We knew if Derek had to miss time, we would have to make some decisions,” Allen said. “So I think it was always in the back of my mind in that regard, but it still wasn’t a decision that was made until I got here and really started talking about it.”
Coach Allen acknowledged that starting a rookie comes with challenges, but said their philosophy is to be patient with Rattler.
“You know, I think we should get that guy in there and let him play,” Allen said. “We’re not going to go into this game saying, ‘You made a mistake, we’re going to pull you.’ He’s going to play, and we’re going to lead the team from there. ”
He later added: “The biggest thing is, I don’t want to approach this like it’s a big test. He’s the next guy. Go in and play, play and have fun and do what you like.” I think sometimes we overthink things and cause more problems than we need. So we take a deep dive into what you need to know about him. When he’s ready, let him go out and play. ”
In three preseason appearances, Rattler completed 20 of 38 pass attempts (52.6%) for 202 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions, while rushing seven times for 26 yards and one lost fumble.
