The Saints will start rookie Spencer Rattler at quarterback on Sunday against the Buccaneers, coach Dennis Allen announced.
“Spencer will be the quarterback for this game,” Allen said, via video from the team. “We talked a lot as a staff about what we felt like was the best thing for us and gave us the best chance to win the game. That was a decision we made, and we’re excited about him getting an opportunity to go in there, and we’ll let him go play and see what he can do.”
Starter Derek Carr injured his oblique late in Monday night’s loss to the Chiefs. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Carr has a tear in the oblique.
Allen said the Saints don’t expect to place Carr on injured reserve, and that Carr will return as the team’s starter when healthy.
Allen has started only one rookie quarterback previously in stints as head coach with the Raiders and Saints.
“Derek Carr,” he said, smiling.
Jake Haener replaced Carr late in Monday’s loss to the Chiefs, but the Saints list Haener and Rattler as co-No. 2 quarterbacks. Rattler was the emergency third quarterback Monday.
In the preseason, Rattler completed 20 of 38 passes for 202 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. He also ran for 26 yards and a touchdown. Rattler has yet to play in the regular season.
“We just internally talked a lot about it, and thought in this particular game that he was going to give us the best chance to win,” Allen said. “Both him and Jake have been practicing extremely hard, preparing to be the starter. It was kind of the conversation we had at the beginning of the year that Jake would be the [No.] 2 to start, but there’s really basically going to be a week-to-week deal, and we just felt like for this game, he was going to give us the best opportunity.”
Allen said the team will reevaluate the quarterback position after this week, calling the decision “week to week” until Carr returns.
“We just felt like this would be the right time for Spencer to get his opportunity,” Allen said.
Rattler will become the fifth rookie quarterback to start this season, with Drake Maye scheduled to start for the Patriots this week. Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix and Caleb Williams have started for their teams all season.
