Saints’ Chris Olave Sends Message To Teams About Spencer Rattler

The New Orleans Saints appeared to be set with their starting quarterback heading into the 2026 season, but what about the backup?

Tyler Shough took the reins midway through the season and gave the Saints a spark that the team needed at the time. He looked good down the stretch and very well could win the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. One guy who was seemingly lost in the shuffle in the second half of the season was Spencer Rattler.

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He started the first eight games of the season for New Orleans and showed clear improvement from his rookie year before New Orleans passed the baton to Shough. Rattler clearly impressed his teammates throughout the season. For example, wide receiver Chris Olave spoke highly of Rattler on Monday and said he should get a chance to start elsewhere, as seen in a clip shared to X by NewOrleans.Football.

Should the Saints look to make a move?

Nov 23, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler (2) warms up prior to a game against the Atlanta Falcons at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

"I want to say one more thing about Spencer," Olave said. "Spencer is a great quarterback. I don't believe that he's a backup quarterback in this league. In this world nowadays, people want to point the finger at somebody when something is going wrong. I feel like Spencer's done a great job when he was back there starting at quarterback and he deserves another opportunity to be a starting quarterback. I don't feel like there are 32 quarterbacks that are better than him. So, in a way, he handled himself like, I feel like I will always be a Spencer fan. So, he never talked down on nobody...Just the way he handled himself, I will always be a fan of his. I wish the best on him in the future...

"Some tough games we had, too. A lot of playoff teams. A lot of good teams that we played in the first part of the year. Some of those games, he was the main reason why we fought back and got in those games...It wasn't all his fault. Like I said, people pointed the finger like it was his fault, but it was on all of us.

It would make sense to keep Rattler around. He has been with the team for two seasons and knows the system. Rattler has two seasons left on his deal with New Orleans as well. But, if a quarterback-needy team comes around looking to make a deal, that shouldn't be ignored. The Saints are set at quarterback in Shough. If the Saints could get draft capital back for Rattler and then sign a veteran backup, that would be a good way forward.

Olave isn't wrong. Rattler showed some flashes early on. Is that enough for a team in need of a quarterback to come calling?

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