Will Saints be next team to change QB?

By Ross Jackson

Now that about a quarter of the NFL season has come and gone, some quarterback changes have begun across the league. A lot of eyes will be on the New Orleans Saints to see if they will follow suit. 

While quarterback Spencer Rattler has not at all been the reason for the team’s 0-4 start, one has to believe that with a highly drafted passer behind him, Rattler now has to show he can be the reason the team can win games instead. 

Second-round signal caller Tyler Shough has been patiently waiting in the wings and progressing in the background as he runs the scout team for the Saints in practices. It’s expected that he will, at some point, be turned to during this season. That is, unless Rattler gives the team a reason not to do so. 

With the New York Giants turning to rookie Jaxson Dart and the Cleveland Browns making the switch to Dillon Gabriel, the door is open for the Saints to follow suit. 

The Atlanta Falcons also benched second-year passer Michael Penix Jr. during a rough Week 3 showing for veteran Kirk Cousins because of the young passer’s performance.  

“No, I just think [Penix] missed his throws today,” Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said.  “Won’t make excuses, won’t have any excuse about mechanical or anything of that nature. We did not play well on any phase, and he did not play well as well.”

Rattler’s been nowhere near that bad. Penix was 18/36 for 172 passing yards and two interceptions to no touchdowns or scoring drives. The Saints’ passer has not yet had that low a completion percentage, having completed better than 66.7% of his passes in his last three games, and hasn’t had a multi-interception game yet this season. 

The signal caller has also never had a passer rating as low as the 40.5 Penix had when he was benched. 

But at some point, the Saints’ decision for starting quarterback may come down to process rather than production. 

With voluntary changes now becoming a trend around the NFL, particularly to rookie passers, the next pair of games could become very important for Rattler and the Saints. An 0-4 start to the season was expected, but wins against the Giants and New England Patriots are absolutely attainable. 

If Rattler can show that he can be the reason the team wins rather than not being the reason they lose, he could continue to command the position and hold tight to his starting role. However, if he doesn’t do that against two beatable opponents, the Saints could quickly become the next NFL club to turn to their rookie quarterback in Shough.