Will the Saints turn to Haener or Rattler if Carr misses time?

NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Saints have been running a competition all summer to see what they have in their two backup quarterbacks. The Saints have been coy about who actually won the contest, listing Derek Carr's replacement as Spencer Rattler OR Jake Haener on the depth chart.

Now they'll likely have to show their true mettle on Sunday afternoon against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after Carr went down with an oblique injury on “Monday Night Football.” A source told ESPN that an MRI confirmed Carr's injury, but would not provide a timetable for how long he would be sidelined. New Orleans may start either Rattler, a rookie fifth-round pick from South Carolina, or Haener, selected in the fourth round of the 2023 draft out of Fresno State.

What do the Saints get if Rattler or Haener are in the starting lineup? According to Saints quarterback coach Andrew Janocko, an outwardly confident quarterback in Haener or a quietly confident one in Rattler.

“I would say every guy has a slightly different way of showing it. Spencer is more of a sniper. He’s the special forces guy, he won’t tell you that,” Janocko said.

The Saints said they wanted to keep the backup quarterback competition going beyond camp. So far, it has been Haener who has filled in for Carr, taking snaps for him in blowout wins and also attempting seven passes in the fourth quarter of Monday's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Rattler was inactive as the third emergency quarterback.

Saints coach Dennis Allen said in September that none of the reserves would get much first-team representation in practice, regardless of what's on the depth chart.

“Whoever the backup quarterback is, and I don't care if it's a young player or a veteran player, in all the years I've been in the league, if anything, that player only gets very few first team representatives. Unless there are extenuating circumstances like last year when Derek was a little limited some days, and I don't expect that to change quite significantly,” Allen said.

That means it will be a lot of work for Janocko to get the backups ready to start in a short week. The Saints have two games in nine days, hosting the Buccaneers on Sunday and the Denver Broncos in Week 7 on “Thursday Night Football.”

The timing is neither ideal for the preparation of replacement players nor for Carr's ability to return from an injury that could take several weeks to heal.

“Whoever you are in the room, you should be ready to go,” Janocko said earlier in the season. “The reality is, when there are two or three of you, you are one moment away from playing, or two moments away from playing. … Klint (Kubiak) sets a standard where it doesn't matter how deep you are.” Diagram (says) where you are, you prepare like the starters. So for me it was just positive and for me to continue to compete in everything we do, whoever they call number two, whoever they call number three That's not a problem because both guys have to be ready to play .”

Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson recently missed a game with an oblique injury. Former Saints quarterback Drew Brees missed two weeks in 2014 with an oblique strain.

“For me to not be out there with my guys, no matter the situation, it takes something,” a somber Carr said after Monday’s loss to the Chiefs. “I couldn’t do what I needed to do in the simplest form.”

If Carr misses time, it would be his first missed game due to injury since his 2017 season with the Oakland Raiders.

Rattler or Haener will be the 10th starting quarterback for the Saints since Brees was sidelined by injury during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Taysom Hill and Teddy Bridgewater started in his place.

Since Brees retired after the 2020 season, there have been five other unique starters: Jameis Winston, Trevor Siemian, Ian Book, Andy Dalton and Carr (Hill also started five games in 2021 after Winston was injured).

Haener and Rattler don't have much experience as NFL quarterbacks, so they'll have to rely on their college experience if they see playing time.

Haener was a starter for Fresno State for three seasons from 2020-2022. The Bulldogs went 10-4 in 2022. Haener completed 72% of his passes for 2,896 yards and 20 touchdowns this season after missing four games with a sprain and broken ankle.

He was suspended for the first six games of the 2023 season for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing drugs and was a healthy scratch behind veteran backup Winston when he returned. Winston filled in for the injured Carr three times and also took snaps in games that were considered blowouts.

Rattler, who starred in the Netflix documentary “QB1: Beyond the Lights” in high school, spent the first three seasons of his college career at Oklahoma and was considered a Heisman contender heading into the 2021 season.

He led the conference in completion percentage, passing yards, passing touchdowns and quarterback rating during the 2020 season, but transferred to South Carolina in 2022 after losing his starting job to Caleb Williams.

Rattler completed 68.9% of his passes for 3,186 yards and 19 touchdowns in his final season at South Carolina before playing in the Senior Bowl, where he was named Senior Bowl MVP.

“I think just from an arm talent standpoint and ability to make all the throws … he has enough mobility in the pocket,” Allen said after they selected Rattler. “I think this is a guy that has been through a lot of adversity, faced a lot of criticism and come out on the other side, and I think that's a good quality to have as a quarterback.”

The Saints' quarterback situation is considered one of the most unique in the league this year due to the age and inexperience of both backups. Now one of them will have a chance to prove why the Saints drafted them.

“However long Derek wants to keep playing, they're going to have to try to potentially sign someone … try to potentially set things up for the future,” Haener said in the offseason after Rattler was drafted. “And if that’s me and Spencer, whoever is better, whoever can set this organization up for future success, then I’m all for it. That's how I see it. I want to try to be a starter in this league. If that’s the case. “I’m competing with others and I’m going to be No. 2 this year, and who knows, that’s great.”