A Look at How Saints Rookie Quarterbacks Have Historically Fared in Their First Start

Spencer Rattler will accomplish a rarity in Saints history on Sunday. Here Is a look at how the franchise's other rookies fared in their first starts.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler (18) looks to pass against the San Francisco 49ers / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr will reportedly miss multiple games because of an oblique injury suffered in Monday night's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The severity was determined by an MRI to the quarterback on Tuesday morning.

Carr has completed 70.3 of his throws for 989 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions through five games. He has missed only two regular season starts because of injury in his 11-year career.

The Saints come into Week 6 ranked 17th in total offense, fourth in points scored, and 21st in passing production. They'll now face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday with a new starter at quarterback behind an offensive line that's also been decimated by injuries.

New Orleans has two quarterbacks remaining on the roster. Jake Haener, a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft from Fresno State, played out the team's final drive at Kansas City in Carr's absence. He's taken only 21 regular season snaps and attempted eight passes in his brief NFL career. Spencer Rattler is a rookie fifth-round choice who has yet to take a regular season NFL snap.

After Wednesday's practice , coach Dennis Allen officially named Spencer Rattler the starter for Sunday's game against Tampa Bay. Haener had been Carr's backup in the first five contests, while Rattler was designated as the emergency backup.

With Rattler starting, he becomes a rarity in the history of this franchise. Now in their 58th year of existence, the Saints have started only six rookie quarterbacks in their history. Here's a look at how all six have fared in their first start for New Orleans.

Archie Manning, 1971

FILE PHOTO; Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Merlin Olsen (74) sacks New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning (8) / Darryl Norenberg-Imagn Images

Coming out of Mississippi, the Saints made Manning the second overall pick in the 1971 NFL Draft behind Jim Plunkett. Incredibly, Manning remains the only quarterback drafted by New Orleans in the first or second round in the 58-year history of the franchise.

Not surprisingly, Manning was an immediate starter as a rookie. His first game was at home in Tulane Stadium against the Los Angeles Rams. Despite suffering seven sacks, a microcosm for his career, Manning and the Saints held a 17-6 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Two Ram touchdowns put New Orleans behind by three late in the game. However, the rookie quarterback drove his team into scoring position in the waning moments. A one-yard touchdown run by Manning in the final minute gave the Saints a surprising 24-20 victory. The rookie quarterback completed 16 of his 29 passes for 218 yards with a touchdown and an interception while adding 14 yards and the game-winning score on the ground.

Manning started 10 games as a rookie, going 3-5-2 as a starter. He completed 48.6% of his throws for 1,164 yards with six touchdowns, nine interceptions, and another 172 yards rushing with an additional four scores.

Over an 11-year career with New Orleans, Manning had 21,734 yards passing on 55.4% completion percentage with 115 touchdowns, 156 interceptions, and 18 scores on the ground.

Larry Cipa, 1974

New Orleans Saints quarterback Larry Cipa (13) looks to throw against the San Francisco 49ers / via X.com and NOLA.com

New Orleans selected Cipa with a 15th round choice out of Michigan in the 1974 NFL Draft. Manning started 11 games for the Saints in 1974, but missed the last two contests of the season. Cipa saw some limited action early in the year before getting the starts when Manning was sidelined.

Cipa's first career start was at home against the St. Louis Cardinals. It wasn't a pretty game, but the Saints upset the eventual NFC East champions by a 14-0 score. Cipa completed 7 of 17 throws for 93 yards without a touchdown or interception in the victory.

New Orleans wasn't as fortunate in Cipa's next start the following week against the San Francisco 49ers. He ran for an early touchdown, but completed 10 of 23 throws for 107 yards before being replaced in the fourth quarter of a 35-21 loss.

Cipa would start just one more game for the Saints, the 1975 season finale. New Orleans traded him to Tampa Bay during the 1976 offseason, but he'd never play another game. In eight games and three starts for the Saints, he completed 37% of his throws for 424 yards with one touchdown pass, another on the ground, and three interceptions.

Dave Wilson, 1981

FILE PHOTO; New Orleans Saints quarterback Dave Wilson (18) in action against the Los Angeles Rams / Peter Brouillet-Imagn Images

After a terrific 1980 campaign with the Illinois Fighting Illini, Wilson had eligibility issues. This led to the Saints picking him in the first round of the 1981 Supplemental Draft as a potential heir apparent to Archie Manning, who was ultimately traded away in 1982.

Wilson began his rookie year behind Manning and Bobby Scott. He'd relieve Scott in Week 3, who was starting for an injured Manning, before getting his first career start the following week. Unfortunately for Wilson, that would come on the road against the eventual Super Bowl XVI champion San Francisco 49ers.

Wilson threw his first career touchdown early in the game against the 49ers, giving the Saints a 7-0 lead. He'd complete just 11 of 22 throws for 180 yards with that score and an interception before being replaced by Manning in a 21-14 loss. Wilson also started the following week, but was again pulled after throwing 4 interceptions in a 20-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Dave Wilson started four contests as a rookie and completed 51.6% of his passes for 1,058 yards with 1 touchdown and 11 interceptions. After missing all of 1982 with a knee injury, he'd play the remainder of his career through 1988 with New Orleans.

Wilson appeared in 53 career games with 31 starts, going 12-19 in those contests. He completed 53% of his career throws for 6,987 yards with 36 touchdowns and 55 interceptions.

Bobby Hebert, 1985

New Orleans Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert (3) / USA TODAY NETWORK

Not technically a rookie in 1985, Hebert entered the NFL with New Orleans after three outstanding seasons with the Michigan Panthers and Oakland Invaders of the USFL. He wouldn't join the Saints until partway into the 1985 campaign and sat behind starter Dave Wilson for most of 1985 and 1986 before becoming the full-time quarterback in 1987.

Hebert got his first career NFL start in Week 11 of the 1985 campaign at the Green Bay Packers. The Saints were routed by a 38-14 score. Hebert actually caught his first and only career NFL touchdown in the fourth quarter from Guido Merkens. However, he was also sacked six times and completed 18 of 36 passes for 180 yards on the day.

Despite the result, Hebert started the last six games of 1985 and had five touchdowns with four interceptions. Ultimately, he'd lead the Saints to their first ever winning season and playoff berth in 1987, along with postseason berths in 1991 and 1992.

Hebert played seven years with the Saints before playoffs out the final four years of his career with the hated Atlanta Falcons. Over his time in New Orleans, Hebert had a 58.5% completion percentage with 14,630 yards with 85 touchdowns and 75 interceptions.

Danny Wuerffel, 1997

New Orleans Saints quarterback Danny Wuerffel (7) / profootballhistory.com

After a Heisman Trophy and National Championship in 1996 with the Florida Gators, the Saints selected Wuerffel with a fourth-round choice in the 1997 NFL Draft. Heath Shuler started the season for Mike Ditka's 1997 Saints, but Wuerffel saw work in the season opener when he replaced Shuler in a 38-24 loss to the St. Louis Rams. He'd throw his first NFL touchdown, but otherwise completed just 4 of 12 passes for 69 yards and an interception.

Wuerffel saw action in two other games before finally getting his first NFL start in Week 8 against the Carolina Panthers. New Orleans was shut out in that one, 13-0, as Wuerffel completed only 13 of 32 attempts for 132 yards with two interceptions and seven sacks.

Wuerffel's next start the following week was no better. New Orleans lost that one by a 23-0 score against San Francisco, with Wuerffel getting benched after seven completions in 15 attempts for 60 yards and an interception.

As a rookie, Wuerffel appeared in seven contests with those two shutout starts. He completed 46.2% of his throws for yards with four touchdowns against eight interceptions. He'd be with New Orleans for three seasons before playing out his final three years in the league with the Packers, Bears, and Washington Redskins.

Wuerffel's three years in New Orleans resulted in a 48.8% completion percentage for 1,404 yards, nine touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. He was part of a dysfunctional three year Mike Ditka quarterback carousel that also included Shuler, Doug Nussmeier, Billy Joe Hobert, Billy Joe Tolliver, Kerry Collins, and Jake Delhomme.

(Still think Dennis Allen and Derek Carr are bad, Saints fans?)

Ian Book, 2021

New Orleans Saints quarterback Ian Book (16) attempts a pass against the Houston Texans / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

After a standout career at Notre Dame, the Saints made Book a fourth-round selection in the 2021 NFL Draft. His preseason was marked with uneven play at best as a rookie. However, he was also considered a developmental prospect with no chance of playing in his first year.

That all changed on a Monday night against the Mami Dolphins in Week 16. Starting quarterback Jameis Winston was lost for the season back in Week 8. The other potential quarterbacks, Taysom Hill and Trevor Siemien, were ruled out because of Covid.

A combination of injuries and Covid sidelined 21 New Orleans starters or major contributors against Miami. This left an already extremely raw Book with a laughingly shorthanded squad for his first NFL start.

Neither quarterback or team stood a chance. Book was sacked eight times and completed 12 of 20 throws for 135 yards and two interceptions in a 20-6 loss. Those were the only passes he threw during his rookie campaign. In fact, that has been the only action Book has seen to date in his career. New Orleans released Book during the 2022 preseason. Since his departure, he's been on the practice squad of the Eagles, Patriots, and Chiefs without action.

The last four rookie quarterbacks to start for the Saints have lost their first game. None of the completion percentages or yardage totals were pretty, with the six quarterbacks combining for two touchdown passes and six interceptions in their initial starts. Only Archie Manning and Bobby Hebert had any amount of somewhat sustained success.

With perhaps the sake of their season on the line, the Saints hope that Spencer Rattler can reverse that trend.