Why the Saints are choosing Spencer Rattler over Jake Haener | Saints

With preseason wrapping up, New Orleans Saints coach Dennis Allen said the competition between Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler isn't over yet. Their performances will be monitored week by week, he said, even if the Saints opted to use Haener as a backup quarterback on game days.

When Allen had to decide Wednesday who would replace the injured Derek Carr for Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Saints chose Rattler.

“We just talked about it a lot internally,” Allen said, “and felt like he would give us the best chance to win in this particular game.”

With the selection of Rattler, the Saints have a quarterback at their side who they selected in the fifth round of the NFL draft in April at No. 150 overall. He came to the Saints after a successful college career that included stops at Oklahoma and South Carolina.

Carr suffered an oblique strain in Monday's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and will be looked at on a “week-to-week basis,” Allen said.

Although Allen said Carr is not a candidate for injured reserve, which would cost the veteran at least four games, it is unlikely the 33-year-old will play on “Thursday Night Football” next week against the Denver Broncos.

However, Allen only guaranteed that Rattler would start against the Buccaneers. He told reporters that the situation for Denver was being reassessed.

But the Saints have seen enough from Rattler in recent weeks to move on from Haener. The two fought a tough battle throughout training camp and the preseason, with each quarterback posting similar numbers. Rattler had a higher passer rating in three preseason games (76.9 to Haener's 74.8), although Haener threw for more yards (270 to 202) and had a higher completion percentage (55.8% to 52.6%).

Early in the season, the Saints assigned Rattler to lead the scout team, which asked the quarterback to imitate opposing signal-callers such as Dak Prescott, Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes and call those opponents' plays.

“He has athletic ability and can throw the ball,” Allen said of Rattler. “He’s accurate. He creates some plays on the scout team. I just think this is a guy that has a lot of talent, and certainly he's a rookie, so we're going to have some challenges that come with that, but I think we're going to have a good plan for him.

“We’re excited to get out there and play.”

Rattler's abilities may be better suited to this version of the Saints. With New Orleans dealing with multiple injuries along the offensive line, Rattler has the ability to extend plays with his legs and has shown in college that he can respond after being released.

In his two seasons at South Carolina, Rattler faced near-constant pressure and was sacked 71 times. But Rattler still found ways to lead South Carolina's offense, which averaged 26 and 32.2 points per game those seasons. Rattler went 28-14 as a starter in college, including his time at Oklahoma.

Allen said Rattler's mobility was “part of” the reasons the Saints decided to go with him, but he declined to elaborate on other reasons.

“He’s been through a lot,” Allen said. “He was tested in the fire and came out the other end. It will be our job as coaches to put him in the best possible position to be successful.”

As for Carr, Allen said the quarterback would serve as the starter again when healthy. He said Carr was “fine” mentally but he was disappointed he had to miss time. Allen said Carr is a “sounding board” for Rattler in the meantime.

Allen also made it clear that while he hasn't committed to Rattler as the starter long-term, he doesn't want Rattler looking over his shoulder once the action begins.

“You gotta let the guy go in there and play, you know what I mean?” Allen said. “We don't go into the game and say, 'If you make a mistake, we'll take you off.' I mean, he comes into play. He will start. He will lead the team. And we’ll go from there.”

From that standpoint, Rattler has already impressed. Center Connor McGovern, who signed with New Orleans just a week ago, said Rattler took command of the team's team in Wednesday's walkthrough.

“That’s what I always look for in a quarterback,” McGovern said. “You need that swagger, that confidence, and he played with it today.”