The Saints officially entered the post-Derek Carr era on Saturday. The next starter will be determined through competition.
The candidates are rookie Tyler Shough and holdovers Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler.
Meeting with reporters on Saturday, coach Kellen Moore was asked whether he views Shough as the starting quarterback.
“We’re going to let all three of these guys roll,” coach Kellen Moore told reporters on Saturday, “and they’ve all earned these opportunities. We’ll let Jake, Spencer, and Tyler — all three kind of go through this process.”
Moore expressed confidence that, one the preseason starts, “one of these guys will rise” to the starting job.
One key factor, as Moore explained it, will be the manner in which they operate the offense and communicate with the other players.
“The quarterback has no choice, it’s a leadership role,” Moore said. “And there’s no real way around that. And so it’s really, really important to see their guys take ownership and go for it. And so, you know, that really comes alive when you get into training camp and pads, when you get into preseason games, and all of us get to a sideline and let these guys roll.”
For now, Shough had a chance to show what he can do during a rookie minicamp. Moore said Shough did an “excellent” job in his first taste of the NFL, which consisted of a pair of seven-on-seven sessions that were “somewhat competitive.” As of Monday, Shough and the other rookies will join the veterans in the ongoing offseason program.
Moore said as to the possibility of adding a veteran quarterback that they’ll have an “awareness” of it, and that they’ll be ready to add another quarterback if the opportunity presents itself.
A fourth-round pick in 2023, Haener appeared in eight games with one start in 2024. He completed 18 of 39 passes for 226 yards with one touchdown pass and one interception. Rattler was a fifth-round pick in 2024. As a rookie, he appeared in seven games with six starts. He completed 130 of 228 passes for 1,317 yards, four touchdown passes, and five interceptions.
Shough arrives as the 40th pick in the 2025 draft. And Moore has witnessed the ability of a rookie to become a viable starter right away; Moore was on the depth chart in Dallas nine years ago, when Dak Prescott arrived as a fourth-round draft pick, took advantage of the opportunity to play right away due to Tony Romo’s back injury, and never looked back.
