Friday means a mere two days before the New Orleans Saints' 2026 regular season opener. The Saints will play at the Detroit Lions to start off their year on Sunday, Sept. 13. Quarterback Spencer Rattler wears No. 2 for New Orleans as he enters his third season. Rattler is our most recent Saints Player of the Day feature.
- Name (age): Spencer Rattler (25)
- Hometown: Phoenix, Ariz.
- Position: Quarterback
- Height, weight: 6-foot, 211 pounds
- College: South Carolina Gamecocks
- Relative Athletic Score: 2.58
- Drafted: Round 5, 150 overall in 2024
- NFL experience: 2 years
- 2026 salary cap hit: $1.16 million
A five-star prospect from Pinnacle High School, Rattler was a prominent national recruit who decided on the Oklahoma Sooners. He played sparingly as a true freshman in 2019 before winning the starting job the following year. Rattler led the Big 12 in completion percentage (67.5%), passing yards (3,031) and touchdowns (28) while guiding the Sooners to a 9-2 mark and earning 1st Team All-Big 12 honors. Entering 2021 as a Heisman
Trophy favorite, Rattler was statistically solid but uneven play led to him getting benched in favor of Caleb Williams. He'd transfer to South Carolina at the season's conclusion.
Rattler quarterbacked the Gamecocks for his final two years of eligibility, leading them to a 13-12 overall mark. In those two seasons, he threw for 6,212 yards with 37 touchdowns, 20 interceptions, and a 67.5% completion percentage. Rattler's collegiate career ended with a 68.5% completion rate, 10,807 passing yards, 77 touchdowns, and 32 interceptions.
After six quarterbacks were picked in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft, their wasn't another signal caller chosen until the Saints grabbed Rattler in Round 5 with the 150th overall selection. He was expected to learn and develop behind starter Derek Carr for his first season. That all changed when Carr went down with an injury in Week 5. Rattler got his first career start in Week 6 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, playing well in spurts during a blowout loss. He'd start the next two games with worsening results until getting benched for Jake Haener against the Chargers. Carr returned the following week, but lasted just five games before going down again with a season-ending injury.
After Carr's second injury, the Saints turned to Haener to start against Washington. That experiment lasted only a half, as Rattler took over and played arguably his best game of the year. Those results didn't carry over, as Rattler started the year's last three games but really only played reasonably well in a season finale rematch against Tampa Bay. An albeit injury-depleted Saints team lost all seven of Rattler's game appearances, averaging just 13.3 points in the process. Rattler completed 57% of his throws for 1,317 yards with 4 touchdowns and 5 interceptions while taking 22 sacks.
Under new head coach Kellen Moore and an entirely new coaching staff in 2025, Rattler competed with second-round rookie draft choice Tyler Shough for the starting job in preseason. It was an even competition, but Rattler was given the opportunity to start the year. That lasted eight games before the Saints turned to Shough to start the remaining nine contests. Under Rattler, New Orleans averaged a meager 15.1 points per outing with Rattler averaging 198.3 passing yards per game and an abysmal 6.2 per attempt.
Spencer Rattler held off Zach Wilson for the backup job during the 2026 offseason. However, neither showed little to inspire confidence if they have to step in for Shough. Given his experience in the system, Rattler should be the favorite to back up Shough this season.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Countdown to Kickoff: Spencer Rattler is the Saints Player of Day 2
