The Shough Story Has a Follow-Up, and It's About Spencer Rattler

The broken-hand news on Tyler Shough landed four days ago, and the more I sit with it, the more it reframes the wrong quarterback. Shough is the backup. He has been gutting through two broken bones in his non-throwing hand, which is genuinely tough, but the practical question for a 2-4 team with 11 games left is what it means for the guy ahead of him on the depth chart. Spencer Rattler is the starter. He is the one the Saints need to stay upright.

Shough has put up reasonable numbers in six games — 1,443 passing yards, 12 touchdowns against 5 interceptions, plus a little production on the ground. That is a functional backup line, broken bones and all. But if Rattler goes down at any point in this stretch, New Orleans is handing the offense to a quarterback managing a hand injury that has already been described as two fractures. That is a thin margin for a team that is already averaging a negative point differential on the season.

The Saints won last week against the Giants and snapped a three-game skid. That is the good news. The bad news is they are still 1.5 games out of a wild card with a home record of 0-3, and the offense has not been consistent enough to carry much adversity. Loomis asked for patience earlier this week. My read is that patience is easier to extend when your backup quarterback is healthy. Right now he is not.