Saints Will Hold Open QB Competition

The news of the day in the NFL has centered today around the retirement of Saints (and former Raiders) quarterback Derek Carr. Naturally, there have been several questions surrounding the foreknowledge the team had concerning this decision and how it affects the team moving forward.

In speaking to the media, new head coach Kellen Moore revealed a couple things that give us some insight into the situation. Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football tells us that Moore claimed Carr’s decision “is something that came together recently.” ESPN’s Katherine Terrell recalls that, though the Saints were seeking clarity on the Carr situation prior to the draft, Moore has said “multiple times that the communication was great” throughout the process.

With that in mind, Moore also told the media that the team’s knowledge of the Carr situation impacted the Saints’ decision to draft Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, per Jeff Nowak of WWL Radio. Shough now joins two other passers on their rookie deals in New Orleans’ quarterbacks room. With the absence of a veteran in the group, Moore was asked if they would look to add one. Per John Hendrix of Athlon Sports, Moore responded that the team would “certainly have awareness to it…if the opportunity presents itself.”

Without a veteran in the building, though, Moore has made it clear that Shough, Spencer Rattler, and Jake Haener will all be given an opportunity to compete for the starting job, per Underhill. Taken with the 40th overall pick this year, Shough was drafted higher than both Rattler (150th in 2024) and Haener (127th in 2023). In fact, Shough is the team’s highest-drafted quarterback since New Orleans selected Archie Manning No. 2 overall in 1971. There were 18 quarterbacks drafted by the Saints between Manning and Shough, and only one (Garrett Grayson in 2015) was selected before the fourth round; Grayson was a third-round pick.

Despite having just been drafted, Shough, having spent seven years in college (three at Oregon, three at Texas Tech, and one at Louisville), is not the youngest of the current group of passers; Rattler is 24, Shough is 25, and Haener is 26.

After sitting on the bench for two years in Eugene, Shough took over for Justin Herbert as the Ducks’ starter as a redshirt sophomore in 2020. After seemingly losing his job to Boston College transfer Anthony Brown, he transferred to Texas Tech, earning the starting job in Lubbock immediately. Injuries limited Shough to just 13 starts in three years with the Red Raiders, though, and he found his way to Louisville via the Transfer Portal last year. With the Cardinals, Shough went 8-4, completing 62.7 percent of his passes for 3,195 yards, 23 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He showed decent, though not impressive, mobility throughout his collegiate career, as well.

Rattler started six games for the Saints as a rookie last year. New Orleans lost all six games as he completed only 57.0 percent of his passes with four touchdowns and five interceptions. After sitting out his entire rookie season, partially due to a six-game suspension, Haener didn’t fare much better in his only starting opportunity last year. After Rattler’s initial 0-3 stretch earlier in the season, Haener got the nod to replace an injured Carr in Week 15 of last year. After a first half that saw Haener complete only four of 10 pass attempts for 49 yards and a touchdown, the Saints went to the locker room down 14-0 and came out with Rattler as the starter for the remainder of the season.

Though it seems his days as a quarterback are long gone, Swiss Army tight end Taysom Hill also resides in the room. In 2020 & 2021, Hill started nine games under center with the team going 9-2 with him as a quarterback. In those games, he completed 63.75 percent of his passes for just under 200 passing yards per game. He scored 14 touchdowns (eight passing, six rushing) and threw six interceptions as a starter. Since those years, though, Hill has only attempted 34 passes over the last three years (including just four in 2024). He’s likely not a factor in the starting competition, but his presence on the roster does warrant mentioning.

More likely, the three young passers will be duking it out throughout the offseason in order to earn QB1 honors. Moore will rotate all three of Shough, Rattler, and Haener on the first-team offense until somebody takes hold of the job and refuses to let go.

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