Spencer Rattler makes feelings known on winning Saints’ Week 1 QB1 role over Tyler Shough

The final quarterback battle of the 2025 season was between Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough. The two passers were dueling for the starter job with the New Orleans Saints, and Rattler, a fifth-round pick in 2024, won the dispute.

Derek Carr's retirement threw a lot of problems for new Saints head coach Kellen Moore to fix. A Super Bowl champion with the Eagles in the previous season, Moore joined the team with the expectation of a veteran quarterback on the roster. However, things changed massively in May.

Rattler has started six games during his rookie season, when Carr was unavailable. Now, he has spoken about how he feels about the possibility of starting a full season, and why he's confident that things will be positive for the Saints in 2025:

"I feel very comfortable coming into this year. Having everybody back healthy, everybody's looking great, it's a different vibe out there, things are looking good with this offense. I think it's good for us, coming into this year, feeling comfortable, knowing what to expect and what it takes to be that guy. I feel very good right now and I just wanna keep building."

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Kellen Moore explains choice for Spencer Rattler during press conference

The second-year quarterback has been admired by the franchise since the 2024 draft. It's clear that the Saints have a lot of faith in him, even though his numbers have been disappointing when he's on the field. Still, new head coach Moore explained on Tuesday's press conference why he made the choice he made:

"Spencer's our starting quarterback. Really, really excited for him. He's done an awesome job this offseason. He's just been consistent. He's made some really good decisions throughout this whole entire process. And his ability to make plays with his arm and his feet has certainly showed up. ... He's earned this opportunity. He's going to do a tremendous job for us.

Rattler was 0-6 in his games as a starter in the past season. He threw for 1,317 yards, with four touchdowns and five interceptions along the way. Shough, on the other hand, was the 40th overall pick of the 2025 draft.

About the author

Henrique Bulio is an NFL and College Football journalist at Sportskeeda and the Editor-in-Chief of Pro Football Brasil. He has a total 13 years of experience working in American Football, and playing quarterback at an amateur level in Brazil has given him a unique perspective of the game.

Henrique follows the Philadelphia Eagles closely due to Michael Vick's historic performance on MNF against the Washington Commanders in 2010. His all-time favorite player is Ed Reed; he believes that Reed is the greatest safety to ever play the game. Bill Belichick gets the nod as Henrique's favorite coach for coaching the Patriots to glory over two decades.

If Henrique were to be able to go back in time and watch one game, it would be Super Bowl XLIX, where the Patriots and the Seahawks played a complete, back-and-forth game that concluded with one of the biggest talking points in NFL history.

Technical deep dives are Henrique’s specialty, and he ensures never to use misleading words in his articles, since he himself consumes a lot of information off the web. He has had the privilege of interviewing Cairo Santos, Lamar Jackson, Jim Harbaugh, Sean McDermott, Bruce Arians, Matt LaFleur, among others.

Aside from football, Henrique likes to play poker and Counter-Strike.

Know More

New Orleans Saints Nation! Check out the latest Saints Schedule and dive into the New Orleans Saints Depth Chart for NFL Season 2024-25.

Edited by Henrique Bulio