Saints‘ Chris Olave Had High Praise For Backup Spencer Rattler After Rough Season

Stephen Douglas | Jan 5, 2026

Spencer Rattler and Chris Olave made a connection in New Orleans. / Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Spencer Rattler was inactive for the New Orleans Saints in Week 18 as they took on the Atlanta Falcons. Rattler had missed practice last week with an injury and had been out of the lineup since he was benched for Tyler Shough in Week 8.

Rattler has two years left on his rookie contract, but with Shough's emergence as a rookie this year, he's been relegated to the backup quarterback role in New Orleans. While the franchise is focused on a future with Shough, at least one person in the building still thinks highly of Rattler, the teams' fifth-round pick in 2024.

Teammate Chris Olave told the media on Monday that he admired the way Rattler handled himself this season and that he believed he deserved to be a starter somewhere in the NFL.

Moments after campaigning for Tyler Shough to win Rookie of the Year, #Saints WR Chris Olave wrapped up his press conference with a message about backup QB Spencer Rattler:

"He deserves another opportunity to be a starting quarterback in this league ... People pointed the finger… https://t.co/hXDewpwZJT pic.twitter.com/jmyuaz9n3G

— NOF (@nofnetwork) January 5, 2026

"I want to say one more thing about Spencer. Spencer's a great quarterback," said Olave. "I don't believe he's a backup quarterback in this league. In this world nowadays, people always want to point the finger at somebody when something's going wrong. I feel like Spencer done a great job when he was back there starting at quarterback. He deserves another opportunity to be a starting quarterback in this league. I don't feel like there's few quarterbacks that's better than him. And the way that he handled himself when he got benched, I'm always going to be a Spencer fan. He never talked down on nobody. I never felt like it was his fault."

Olave went on to say that he'd always be a fan and pointed out that the Saints had a tough schedule when Rattler was in the lineup. That much is definitely true. Five of the Saints first seven opponents this season made the playoffs in the 49ers, Seahawks, Bills, Patriots and Bears. And his final start came against a Buccaneers team that was 5-2 at the time.

The Saints took Rattler in the fifth round of the 2024 draft and he appeared in seven games as a rookie, starting six. The Saints went 0-7 in those games. Then the team drafted Tyler Shough in the second round of the '25 draft.

Rattler was the Saints starting quarterback in Week 1 and held onto the job until Tyler Shough took over during a Week 8 loss to the Buccaneers. Rattler completed 67.7% of his passes this season, threw for 1,586 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions.

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