Before Derek Carr abruptly retired this offseason, the New Orleans Saints were already angling toward a reset at quarterback. There were rumors, after all, of a potential Carr trade, and even after new coach Kellen Moore bore witness to the veteran restructuring his contract to stay put, the overhauled staff’s endorsements of Carr were tepid at best. Change was due.
The new hope arrived on Day 2 of the 2025 NFL Draft, when Moore and Co. handpicked Tyler Shough, of all prospects, to be the next potential face of the franchise. No matter that Shough was already 25 years old — soon to be 26 now — and fresh off a college career that ran seven — that’s right, seven — seasons due primarily to a litany of injuries. At least he was something different.
Except, at the dawn of the 2025 season, it’s not clear the Saints are past square one.
Maybe it was always going to be this way: a total mess, with no real way of determining whether Shough or incumbent youngster Spencer Rattler was even remotely equipped to own a starting NFL quarterback job by the start of the real season. But if that was the plan, then it’s unfolding perfectly. Because after three preseason games of Shough and Rattler trading opportunities as the first-team signal-caller, well, even Saints fans aren’t convinced either quarterback belongs anywhere near the term “first-team.”
This is not to say Shough or even Rattler can’t surprise and make the Saints scrappy under Moore’s direction. We’re talking about a coach who got stamps of approval working very directly with accomplished veterans like Jalen Hurts, Dak Prescott and Justin Herbert. Both Moore and his lottery-ticket quarterbacks also have more offensive weapons at their disposal than you might realize, from Alvin Kamara and Chris Olave to deep-ball specialist Rashid Shaheed. And, remember, they play in the NFC South.
But none of those things account for the most important and arguably most unmistakable reality: The Saints do not have a clear or even mildly promising answer at quarterback, at least as of this moment. Shough has some big-play sizzle; he scooted for a touchdown run in his preseason finale, and he launched a deep score in his exhibition debut. He seems just as liable to produce a big play for the opposing team, tossing a pick six in his first August action and losing a fumble on Saturday. Rattler, meanwhile, appears slightly more capable of avoiding disaster, albeit without the upside of truly elevating the rest of the Saints’ attack.
Rattler vs. Shough in 2025 preseason
| Spencer Rattler | 2 | 295 | 69.7 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
|
Tyler Shough |
1 |
333 |
67.9 |
1 |
1 | 1 |
Are we overly harsh on 24- or 25-year-old quarterbacks here? It’s not like Shough or Rattler were premium first-round investments. (Although Shough wasn’t that far off, going 40th overall in April.) But that just leads us to the real point, which Who Dat Nation has basically known and worked to accept for months: The Saints were never fully committed to solving this position in 2025 alone. It’s kind of ironic, after all these years of New Orleans refusing relentlessly to embrace a total rebuild, that we’re now harping on the Saints taking it slow rather than reaching for instant results under center.
Maybe that’s because the Saints have muddied up the process, saying with one wave of words and actions they intend to pursue the future (e.g. hiring Moore to replace Dennis Allen) but then saying with another they’re still trying to win right now (i.e. signing Brandin Cooks, retaining an aging Cameron Jordan). Or maybe the truth is all rebuilds are messy; it’s just a matter of how messy.
One thing just has to be for certain: Moore and the Saints are prepared for the 2025 season to be as messy as can be, because for months they insisted they had no interest in adding more proven arms to maybe the thinnest quarterback room in the NFL. And if the preseason sample size is any indication of what’s to come from Shough or Rattler or (gasp) Jake Haener, well, the safest bet is that New Orleans will be squarely back in the quarterback market come six months from now.