Bucs Gameday

Saints Announce Starting QB Against Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will face New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler this Sunday.

David Harrison

August 18, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler (18) during the second quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
August 18, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler (18) during the second quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been battling some injury issues this season, and face a Week 6 opponent in the New Orleans Saints who haven't had the best luck health-wise themselves.

As both teams try to keep pace with the NFC South Division-leading Atlanta Falcons, the Buccaneers knew one thing for certain; that they would not be facing Saints quarterback Derek Carr.

After being injured in his team's Week 5 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay knew Carr would be out for this contest, but didn't know until Wednesday which quarterback it would be facing on Sunday in New Orleans.

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“We just internally talked a lot about it,” Saints head coach Dennis Allen told reporters on Wednesday according to LouisianaSports.net's Ross Jackson. “And felt like in this particular game that (Spencer Rattler) was going to give us the best chance to win. Both he and Jake (Haener) have been practicing extremely hard, preparing to be the starter.”

According to Jackson, Allen also shared that the coaching staff had previously determined that while Haener has been the team's second quarterback this season, it would be a week-to-week evaluation to determine who would replace Carr in case of injury.

Now, that time has come, and it will be the rookie facing the Bucs in hopes of getting the Saints their third win of the year. The Buccaneers will be looking for their fourth.

Rattler will be the third rookie quarterback Tampa Bay faces this season. In Week 1, Todd Bowles' team beat Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders. In Week 3, Bowles' squad came out lifeless and fell victim to Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos.

Which version of the Bowles-led Bucs will we see this Sunday against a third rookie? Right now, its hard to tell with the injuries and concerns on the homefront complicating matters. All we know is Buccaneers vs. Saints is never without some drama, so everyone will be ready for the unexpected to happen this Sunday inside the Superdome.

Stick with BucsGameday for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the 2024 season.

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David Harrison
DAVID HARRISON

David Harrison has been in sports media since 2015 using written, audio, and video media to cover athletes, coaches, and games. In addition to covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for BucsGameday and Locked On Bucs he also covers the Washington Commanders for Commander Country and Locked On Commanders and the Washington Wizards for Inside the Wizards. David also covers the NFL as a whole as one of the Friday hosts for Locked On NFL. He is a graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University and previously spent 20 years as an active member of the United States Army. Contact David via email at david.w.harrison82@gmail.com or on Twitter @DHarrison82.

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