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While a lot of the NFL preseason buzz is focused on the Cleveland Browns' quarterback battle, the New Orleans Saints also have a quarterback battle going on. After Derek Carr's retirement, the QB1 position is up for grabs and each of Spencer Rattler, Jake Haener and rookie Tyler Shough are battling it out.
On Sunday, the Saints opened the preseason against the Los Angeles Chargers, and all three signal-callers saw action in the 27-13 loss in LA. Here is how each of them played:
- Tyler Shough: 15-of-22, 165 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
- Spencer Rattler: 7-of-11, 53 yards
- Jake Haener: 5-of-8, 41 yards, 1 INT
Rattler also lost a fumble, and the only Saints QB to throw a touchdown was Shough, who connected with Mason Tipton on a 54-yard score in the second half.
After the game, Rattler opened up on his performance, via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.
“Too much up and down,” Rattler said. “We started pretty well, kind of stalled out in a few drives, couple misreads, just not great execution. Not how you want it. I thought I left some plays out there. As a group, I thought we could have been better on third down, and then we got to finish in that red zone after the muffed punt on fourth and one. Had some good moments and bright moments but got to be more consistent throughout the game.”
Rattler was a fifth-round pick out of South Carolina in the 2024 NFL Draft, and he saw action in his rookie season while Carr dealt with an injury. Rattler threw for 1,317 yards with four touchdowns and five interceptions across seven games, but a new head coach and new offensive coordinator mean learning a new scheme.
As of now, it was Shough, the soon-to-be 26-year-old rookie who saw the most snaps in the preseason opener and looked the best, although it is still early in the preseason.
