It was known before the New Orleans Saints made Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough the 40th overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft that New Orleans’ Derek Carr was dealing with some type of shoulder injury.
Nevertheless, many were shocked to learn over the weekend that Carr was retiring due to complications related to that ailment.
ESPN’s Field Yates predicted what will happen if the Saints hold a competition for their starting quarterback job featuring Shough, Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener.
“I believe Shough will beat out Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener for the starting job,” Yates said. “Now, the Saints’ roster might not be set up for the immediate success of a rookie quarterback, but they will likely give Shough every chance to show he can become their long-term fixture under center. Shough’s arm talent, ability to read the defense and mobility are the foundation of an impressive skill set. He threw 23 touchdown passes last season and has 32 career starts under his belt.”
A 2023 fourth-round draft pick, Haener made just one regular-season start over his first two pro campaigns. In total, he has completed 18-of-39 passes (46.2 percent) for 226 yards with one touchdown and one interception as a pro.
Rattler lost all six of the starts he made after New Orleans selected the 24-year-old in the fifth round of last year’s draft. As a rookie, Rattler connected on 57 percent of 228 passes for 1,317 yards with four scores and five picks.
As for Shough, he was viewed by some analysts as the “most pro-ready” quarterback in the 2025 draft class. He’ll turn 26 years old this coming September, and he played in 42 games during his college career.
“Experience isn’t the only form of pro readiness,” ESPN’s Ben Solak wrote for a piece posted on Sunday. “While Shough hasn’t taken as many snaps as you might expect of a 25-year-old, he has been through many installs and offseason programs; he has worked with a variety of receivers and systems. It’s reasonable to expect more from Shough than an average rookie in terms of onboarding the playbook and getting command of the locker room. We can expect him to have more mature habits than a 21- or 22-year-old.”
As of Monday morning, FanDuel Sportsbook listed Shough as the betting favorite at -186 odds to be New Orleans’ Week 1 QB1. Rattler was second on the list at +144 odds, followed by Haener at +3500 odds.
Some think that the Saints could call the Browns about a trade for either Joe Flacco or Kenny Pickett if Shough doesn’t look ready to face live defenses in meaningful games by the final week of August. New Orleans could also reach out to free agent Aaron Rodgers.
