The Spencer Rattler era appears to be over in New Orleans, and you know what? It wasn't that bad! Sure, Rattler was benched this week for Tyler Shough, but overall, Rattler wasn't the disaster that people expected him to be.
That's not to say Rattler is "good." In eight starts, he led the New Orleans Saints to a 1-7 record, but he completed an impressive 68.0 percent of his pass attempts for 1,586 yards and eight touchdowns. Rattler was picked off five times.
But the Saints really had no choice here. Rattler was a "high-end backup who you can use as a starter in spots" guy, and the Saints are a 1-7 football team that needs to find its quarterback of the future. While I highly doubt Shough is that guy, New Orleans invested a second-round pick on him this season, so it would have been coaching malpractice if Kellen Moore hadn't made this move at some point. With the Saints almost certainly tracking for a top-five pick in a draft with some decent quarterback prospects, it's time to learn what Shough can do.
So, what's next for Rattler? It's hard to imagine the Saints going back to him at any point this year, barring a Shough injury. With the trade deadline approaching, some teams with need at quarterback might want to see what it would take to get Rattler out of New Orleans.
New York Jets
Good job, Justin Fields, for having what might have been the first revenge game against your current team. The Jets benched him, but a Tyrod Taylor injury meant he wound up starting anyway and led the Jets to their first win of the season.
Overall, though, Fields has struggled, and there's really nothing that the Jets can learn from Taylor, a journeyman veteran who, at age 36, should not be starting in the NFL.
Is Rattler the answer for the Jets? More than likely not, but if they're committed to moving on from Fields as the starting quarterback, tossing a late-round pick swap to New Orleans to see if Rattler can be serviceable isn't a terrible option. The Jets are drafting a quarterback in 2026, but they also have a need for a reliable backup going forward, which Rattler is capable of being.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers remain in the most frustrating purgatory there is — too good to draft a top quarterback and too bad to be a legitimate contender. The addition of Aaron Rodgers doesn't appear to be changing that, as the Steelers sit at 4-3 on the year. They'll once again be drafting around Pick 20, which is not where you find a starting quarterback.
So, why not give Rattler a try? He was unable to elevate the Saints because that roster is a mess, but maybe Rattler could be the next guy to take the reins in Pittsburgh and lead the team to a 9-8 record?
Of course, the best thing the Steelers could do at this point would be to just blow things up and try a real rebuild, but does anyone really think this franchise will do that? I don't. I think they keep trying to be average while hoping someone emerges as a legitimate quarterback for the team. If that's the situation you're bound to be in, going after Rattler makes sense.
Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota is finally getting J.J. McCarthy back, but Carson Wentz — who was starting while McCarthy was sidelined — is now done for the season with a shoulder injury.
That means that a 3-4 Vikings team with some remaining playoff aspirations is down to a second-year quarterback who has two career starts as the No. 1 guy and Max Brosmer as the No. 2 guy.
The reasoning for adding Rattler is obvious here: Minnesota can't go forward with Brosmer as its backup quarterback. Not if this team really thinks it can get back in the playoff hunt.
McCarthy should be given every opportunity to succeed in Minnesota. I'm not saying the Vikings need to trade for Rattler to push for a starting spot. But if McCarthy gets hurt again after the deadline, the team will only have free agent options to chose from. It's time to be proactive and add a backup quarterback at the deadline who could reasonably be expected to play well if pressed into action. I, for one, think Rattler would be fine throwing to these Vikings weapons.