JACKSON: Rattler Deserves a Shot

Two things can be true at once.

The New Orleans Saints have their starting quarterback in veteran passer Derek Carr. Also, the Saints may have their future face of the franchise on the roster waiting in the wings.

Rookie signal caller Spencer Rattler has made a lot of waves with his impressive performances through training camp and the preseason. 

His performances made it clear that the young passer deserves a chance to be the team’s leader after Carr.

While locking horns with second-year quarterback Jake Haener, Rattler’s popularity has expanded beyond the Saints’ fanbase. NFL writers from all over the country are interested in seeing more from 2019’s No. 1 overall quarterback and prospect out of the state of Arizona. Whether joking about him becoming the team’s starter or highlighting him as a player with “super-sub” potential, there is real desire to see what Rattler can do at the NFL level.

There is no question that the Saints do have their starting quarterback. At least the organization is not questioning it. Carr finished last season strong and showed enough promise that the team chose to revamp its offensive system while including elements of the game that elevated Carr’s play over last year’s final five games. The hope is that he and the offense will pick up where they left off with new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.

Even with that all in place for the present, it does not close the door for Rattler and his potential impact on the team’s future. Even if Carr does have a solid season this year, that does not secure his spot as the team’s signal caller before 2025 or even into 2025.

Despite a $10 million roster bonus already now guaranteed for Carr’s 2025 year, the team could still designate him as a post-June 1 cut next offseason taking on just over $21 million in dead cap. The Saints have never been afraid to find interesting ways to balance their books, and this move would not be a hindrance at all. 

A league source made it apparent to LouisianaSports.Net that the restructure of Carr’s contract ahead of free agency this year will not marry the team to him for the next. Essentially, all options would still be on the table, sans a trade one would expect with Carr’s no-trade clause. Ideally things do not come to that though and the transition instead is a bit more amicable.

All that to say that this is an important year for Carr. The team has the ability to head a different direction, albeit much easier to do so after next year, and there is an exciting young quarterback waiting in the wings. Truly there are two talented passers with Haener in the mix as well. 

Rattler’s history likely gives him the early edge in the conversation. Although he completed just 52.6 percent of his passes through his three preseason appearances, taking a deeper look tells the whole story. Pro Football Focus (PFF) uses a metric called “adjusted completion percentage.” The goal is to weed out non-targeted passes and throws dropped by receivers. Rattler’s adjusted completion rate was 69.7 percent meaning 13 percent of Rattler’s on-target throws were dropped over the exhibition games. He finished with a 76.9 passer rating.

There is plenty of buzz circulating the young quarterback.

The big question about translating this success for now will be all about the level of competition. While Haener faced a starting defense against the Tennessee Titans, Rattler faced second-string units at best. The concern around that might be a touch overblown, however. The qualities that Rattler displayed, good decision-making, great ball placement, good anticipation and a smooth, stern command of the offense have very little to do with the talent opposite him. Those are simply good traits.

As for preparing to take on better competition, that is where time will help. As the team competes to get back to the playoffs here in 2024, Rattler and Haener will continue to compete. Head coach Dennis Allen made it clear that he has no intent on declaring a backup quarterback soon. He will allow for both young passers to keep working and developing so that they are prepared if and when their name is called. The trick will be making sure the snaps are available in practice.

Rattler will then have that opportunity to progress and improve where needed in order to be ready to take on top-level NFL competition. It will be a challenge for New Orleans, but the coaching staff is now loaded with developers on the offensive side of the ball. After years of not being able to foster and grow rookie quarterback talent, things look to be changing in the Big Easy.

So yes, the Saints have their starting quarterback right now in Carr. He’s a starting quarterback that they are excited about and has some motivation to perform in 2024. While that is true, the Saints are also positioned to finally have a quarterback on a rookie contract with outstanding potential. Rattler deserves his chance to prove he can be the future of the Saints’ organization. It will be up to New Orleans now to carve out and foster such an opportunity, which will be in their best interest.