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This might be just what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their embattled defense need to get back on track — a rookie quarterback making his first start in a high-pressure situation.
That’s what will happen when the Buccaneers travel to face the New Orleans Saints in a Week 6 NFC South Division showdown on October 13 and rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler makes his first career start.
Rattler will be filling in for injured starter Derek Carr, who hurt his oblique in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5. Against the Chiefs, the Saints turned to second-year quarterback Jake Haener when Carr went down.
“We just internally talked a lot about it and felt like in this particular game, that (Rattler) was going to give us the best chance to win,” Allen told ESPN’s Katherine Terrell. “Both him and Jake both have been practicing extremely hard, preparing to be the starter. It was kind of the conversation that we had at the beginning of the year that Jake would be the No. 2 to start … It was really basically going to be kind of a week-to-week deal and we just felt like this was, for this game, going to give us the best option.”
Rattler’s Career Has Been Heavily Scrutinized
Few quarterbacks in the NFL can claim to have been under the microscope like Rattler has — dating back to when he was featured on the Netflix documentary series “QB1: Beyond the Lights” as a senior at Pinnacle High School in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2018.
Rattler’s turn on the show was memorable for the wrong reasons; a clip of him trying to bully one of his teammates went viral and he was ultimately suspended from the team for an undisclosed violation of the school district’s code of conduct policy but lied about having an MCL sprain as the reason why he was sitting out.
The No. 1 pro-style quarterback in the nation coming out of high school, Rattler backed up Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts as a true freshman at Oklahoma in 2019 and led the Sooners to the Big 12 championship and was named All-Big 12 as a sophomore in 2020.
In 2021, Rattler was benched in the second quarter against Texas after his second interception of the game in favor of freshman Caleb Williams, a future Heisman Trophy winner and 2024 No. 1 overall pick. Williams rallied the Sooners from a 35-17 deficit to a 55-48 victory and Rattler never returned to the lineup.
Rattler transferred to South Carolina, where he went 13-12 in 2 seasons as a starter in 2023 before the Saints selected him in the fifth round (No. 150 overall) of the 2024 NFL draft.
Secondary Struggles Highlighted for Buccaneers
Tampa Bay’s struggles in the secondary were on full display in a 36-30 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 5 as quarterback Kirk Cousins set a franchise record with 509 passing yards and 4 touchdowns.
The key for the Buccaneers getting back on track will likely be the return of NFL All-Pro free safety Antoine Winfield Jr., who has been missing since a Week 1 win over the Washington Commanders with a foot injury.
Winfield returned to practice on Wednesday, October 9, but was limited and his return to face the Saints still remains in doubt.
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