Entering the 2026 NFL season, the New Orleans Saints have built their quarterback room around the idea that Tyler Shough would be the quarterback of the future. With that in mind, the same notion could call into question Spencer Rattler’s future with the team.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano recently named Rattler as a potential trade candidate who could be dealt ahead of the trade deadline in the middle of the 2026 season. The former fifth-round pick has plenty of game experience, and the changing structure of the Saints’ quarterback room could leave Rattler as the odd man out. Starting in the first eight games of the 2025 season after beating out Shough in a training camp competition, Rattler was eventually benched as Shough took advantage of the opportunity and never looked back.
Now, Graziano believes Rattler could draw interest elsewhere if he becomes the odd man out in New Orleans. One team he specifically mentioned as a potential suitor: the Denver Broncos.
“If Rattler’s the odd man out, he should generate interest,” Graziano wrote. “His 14 NFL starts haven’t been great (the Saints lost 13 of them), but they do constitute the kind of experience teams prize when looking for backup/developmental QBs.”
As for potential interest from the Broncos, Denver’s head coach, Sean Payton, still has strong ties to New Orleans, though he wasn’t with the Saints when Rattler entered the league. The other element to the story is that Denver’s starting quarterback, Bo Nix, has been recovering from a broken ankle, and their quarterback room, with Jarrett Stidham and Sam Ehlinger behind Nix, could use a young player with plenty of upside to fill in.
Last year, the QB1 battle was the key storyline for the Saints. As of this year, it’ll be a matter of who wins the QB2 battle between Rattler and former first-round pick Zach Wilson. At the end of the day, Rattler is still only 25 with real starting experience in the NFL, which could make him attractive for a team looking to add a young backup.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: NFL Trade Rumors: Saints QB Spencer Rattler linked to Denver Broncos
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