Who Should I Start? Spencer Rattler or Aidan O'Connell

Sunday, September 8, 11:50 AM

New Orleans Saints quarterback Jake Haener will open the season as Derek Carr's backup. He's officially active for Week 1 while rookie Spencer Rattler is a healthy scratch. The Saints' depth chart generated some buzz at the quarterback position, where Haener and Rattler were listed as co-backups, but it appears we now have a firm answer, at least for the start of the year. Haener was a fourth-round pick in 2023 and spent all of last season developing in the Saints' roster, but he has yet to appear in a game. Rattler was the team's fifth-round pick this year after he put together a couple of solid seasons at the University of South Carolina. Both players remain off the redraft radar as long as Carr is healthy.

Wednesday, August 21, 10:09 PM

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce confirmed on Wednesday that quarterback Aidan O'Connell won't play in the preseason finale on Friday against the San Francisco 49ers. The Raiders named Gardner Minshew II as their starting QB earlier this week, and the Raiders will hold both Minshew and O'Connell out of action this weekend, with Carter Bradley and Nathan Peterman set to split the reps under center. The 25-year-old O'Connell will enter his second NFL season as the backup to Minshew, but if Minshew struggles early on, don't be surprised if Pierce gives O'Connell a shot. He went 5-5 as the starter in 2023 after the team moved on from Jimmy Garoppolo, throwing 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Ultimately, experience won out for Pierce, with Minshew having 37 career NFL starts under his belt. For now, O'Connell is merely a QB3/4 bench stash in superflex fantasy leagues.