The New Orleans Saints approach the NFL Draft expected to shop former starting quarterback Spencer Rattler. With the emergence of Tyler Shough, exploring what the Saints could get for Rattler makes a lot of sense.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter discussed Rattler’s trade status among other quarterbacks.
He said, “Those who could gain interest include Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson sr., Titans quarterback Will Levis, Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler…”
Clearly there will be interest in adding backup quarterbacks as tends to be the case with the NFL Draft.
Compared to Levis and Richardson, Rattler provides a better sense of stability. Levis played very poorly in his most recent stint as starter, and Richardson showed concerns with his effort, health, and play on the field.
Rattler Took a Step Forward in Year Two
GettyRattler started eight games in 2026 for the Saints.
Despite being benched for Shough, Rattler showed plenty of improvement in year two. His completion percentage jumped from 57% to 67.7%. His interception rate dropped from 2.2% to 1.9%; sack percentage dropped from 8.8% to 6.55%; passer rating increased from 70.4 to 86.5.
Given Rattler’s age and development, it makes sense for the Saints to shop him. They can still acquire decent capital for him; those picks help solve other areas of need on the roster.
Dan Graziano for ESPN noted that the Saints saw something in Rattler to make him the week one starter for last year’s NFL season.
He said, “Rattler showed the Saints enough the past two offseasons that they were willing to give him a shot, and there could be teams out there that think enough of his talent to bring him in to see if they can coach him up into a more consistent starter.”
Ben Solak also of ESPN agrees. He sees Rattler as a developmental player that could win a job in training camp.
He said, “The Saints don’t want to trade a young quarterback on a rookie contract who improved as a sophomore, but teams need developmental passers, and Rattler is the best candidate this spring. Rattler excelled as more of a quick-distribution point guard last season, but he also showed good creation ability on longer, movement dropbacks. He could fight — and easily beat out — a free agent veteran in training camp for a rebuilding team.”
Potential Team Fits for Rattler
GettyNFL Teams still see Rattler as a developmental prospect.
ESPN lists several teams potentially interested in Rattler: the Dolphins, Chiefs, Rams, and Raiders. Keep in mind that list was released in February, so much has changed since then.
Two of those options still make sense though. The Dolphins signed Malik Willis this offseason to be their starting quarterback. However, the only option behind him is Quinn Ewers who did not show much as a rookie. Secondly, the Rams only have Stetson Bennett currently behind Matthew Stafford. Bennett has not shown anything in the NFL since the Rams drafted him.
The other two options are no longer sensical given recent events. The Chiefs traded for Justin Fields to back up Patrick Mahomes. Also, the Raiders signed Kirk Cousins in free agency to be a mentor for the expected number one overall pick Francesco Mendoza.
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