Jan. 16, 2026, 7:55 a.m. CT

It isn’t just Chris Olave. The New Orleans Saints wide receiver caused a stir during exit interviews when he lobbied for Spencer Rattler to get another chance to compete for a starting job (in the same breath as pushing for Tyler Shough to win your Rookie of the Year vote). But Olave isn’t alone. Shough himself thinks Spencer Rattler deserves another chance to start again, too.

The rookie quarterback said as much during his interview with Terron Armstead’s The Set podcast. Armstead brought up the topic: “I like Spencer, bro. I like Spencer Rattler. I think he’ll get a chance for sure to start.”

“For sure. He should,” Shough agreed. “He’s a great dude. He’s a great player, he can spin it. He’s athletic. Like I said, there’s just a lot that goes into it, for sure. Everybody in the league, I think, can spin it. Everybody can do it. It’s kind of circumstantial. It’s about having the right mindset.”

The part Shough and Olave didn’t directly say doesn’t exactly need to be said out loud, but we’ll spell it out just to be clear. Shough is the starter in New Orleans. They agree that Rattler deserves an opportunity to compete for a starting job. That isn’t going to happen with the Saints, so Rattler just needs to keep his nose to the grindstone and be ready when an opportunity opens up somewhere else. It’s clear there isn’t any bad blood here. Saints quarterbacks coach Scott Tolzien praised both young guns for handling the change well. Armstead stressed the point, too: “Fit, opportunity, scheme, belief.”

Those circumstances could come together sooner rather than later. In his breakdown of each team’s needs entering the offseason, Pro Football Focus NFL analyst Mason Cameron said eight different teams should have quarterback as their highest priority. That includes teams that gave it a shot with past-their-prime starters like the Pittsburgh Steelers (Aaron Rodgers) and Las Vegas Raiders (Geno Smith) plus those that haven’t gotten what they wanted out of draft picks, such as the Arizona Cardinals (Kyler Murray), Cleveland Browns (Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel), or Miami Dolphins (Tua Tagovailoa). Others, like the Indianapolis Colts (Daniel Jones), Los Angeles Rams (Matthew Stafford), and New York Jets (Justin Fields) are in various states of limbo.

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And that’s not even getting into what’s going on with the Atlanta Falcons (Michael Penix Jr. and Kirk Cousins) or Minnesota Vikings (J.J. McCarthy). Almost a third of the league has questions to answer at the game’s most important position.

So don’t be shocked if Rattler’s name comes up in trade talks this spring. With just three quarterbacks consistently ranking in top-50 lists — Rodgers, who may retire; Jones, recovering from an Achilles injury; and Green Bay Packers backup Malik Willis — and just one team able to draft this year’s only pro-ready rookie, Fernando Mendoza (Indiana), Rattler’s services could be in demand. Getting the 25-year old into the building halfway through his rookie contract has to appeal to some of those teams we just mentioned. Sure, his record (1-13) and touchdowns-to-interceptions ratio (12-to-10) aren’t exciting. That’s why he lost his job to Shough. But as Shough himself said, Rattler can play in this league. All it takes is the right set of circumstances for him to get his next shot.