New Orleans Saints coach Kellen Moore cracked open the door to quarterback hypothesis in February when he did not seem to make a agency dedication to Derek Carr.
And within the second spherical of the 2025 NFL draft, the Saints kicked that door huge open.
The group chosen Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough with the No. 40 decide on Friday night time after bypassing the place with their first-round decide (New Orleans chosen Texas offensive sort out Kelvin Banks Jr. at No. 9).
Shough will arrive in New Orleans amid questions on Carr, who has not been in attendance in the course of the voluntary a part of the offseason program.
The Saints confirmed Carr has a shoulder harm throughout a pre-draft press convention on Wednesday however didn’t present any additional readability in regards to the veteran quarterback, with Moore saying the group will “let that course of play itself out.”
If Carr elects to steer clear of the group when offseason practices start in Could, Shough can be sharing time with Spencer Rattler, the first starter as a rookie when Carr was injured final 12 months, and Jake Haener, who began one recreation in 2024 however was benched for Rattler after a half.
“My objective is to return in there and compete and do every little thing I can to make the group higher,” Shough stated Friday after being drafted. “And I feel for my scenario, that is my entire objective and I am simply actually excited to work with the coaches and see plenty of my shut associates and teammates which might be already there. So, simply tremendous fired up for the chance and clearly an excellent franchise and an excellent historical past of quarterbacks.”
With a possible quarterback controversy brewing in New Orleans, Saints reporter Katherine Terrell solutions the largest questions in regards to the scenario with assist from NFL insider Dan Graziano, plus participant evaluation from Steve Muench. — Terrell
With uncertainty round Carr’s harm, is Shough instantly within the QB1 dialog? What does it imply for Rattler, Haener and Ben DiNucci?
Sure, he is within the combine for QB1. Saints common supervisor Mickey Loomis, who has been in his place since 2002, has at all times made it a degree to try to get his coach the quarterback he needed. Sean Payton needed free agent Drew Brees, and Dennis Allen needed Carr, who was signed in 2023 after the Saints failed to accumulate Deshaun Watson.
The Saints have not invested vital draft capital in any quarterback throughout Loomis’ tenure, so this is perhaps their approach of giving the brand new coach his quarterback. It definitely appears that approach after a rocky starting to Moore’s relationship with Carr, whose standing for the 2025 season and past is unknown.
However even taking Carr out of the equation will not assure Shough sliding into the highest spot. The Saints have chosen QBs within the final three drafts, taking Rattler with a fifth-round decide final 12 months. Whereas Rattler went 0-6 in his begins for an injured Carr, it was underneath troublesome circumstances that included Allen being fired in the course of the season and a slew of accidents on offense.
Nevertheless, it is basically a clean slate with a brand new teaching workers in place, and Rattler, who’s a 12 months youthful than Shough, will seemingly get an opportunity to attempt to show himself in camp towards the rookie. With solely so many reps to go round, this would go away both Haener or DiNucci because the odd man out.
One level in Shough’s favor is how a lot time he is already spent with members of the Saints teaching workers on the Senior Bowl, Louisville’s professional day and through a pre-draft go to on April 11 — the day information of Carr’s harm broke publicly. Shough stated that he is already had good conversations with Moore, and so they talked in depth about his tasks at Louisville and the way he considered the sport.
Shough stated his go to with Moore was one in every of his favorites from the draft course of as a result of Moore had a novel perspective on how he considered destructive performs.
“You are going to have to speak about unhealthy performs and unhealthy performs are going to occur,” Shough stated. “And you are going to have good ones, however at any time when these unhealthy performs come, how do you analyze it? And he by no means considered it as a destructive. He used it as a possibility to develop and it was fixable and I actually love that perspective from him as a result of he understands the place, that it is all analytical and you may develop each single snap and play. So I really like that and I took so much out of it.” — Terrell
Does this transfer assist the Saints’ playoff possibilities in a normally wide-open NFC South?
I imply… I assume, since they don’t know if Carr goes to play and Shough is probably going an improve over Rattler.
Shough is very regarded by individuals across the league as a prospect, and his age and expertise point out that he may be capable of play straight away. I simply do not understand how many individuals had been sitting round this offseason considering ideas that included the phrase “Saints” and in addition the phrases “playoff possibilities.” If Shough is the starter, he will be a rookie quarterback enjoying for a first-time head coach on a group with, frankly, plenty of query marks on the roster. Even after utilizing their first-round decide on an offensive lineman, the Saints’ line nonetheless wants work. The protection is ageing. The receivers have had issues staying wholesome.
There’s plenty of draft left and everybody has not less than some extent of hope this time of 12 months. Who is aware of? Perhaps Shough is nice out of the gate and receivers Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed each get to 1,000 receiving yards. However on paper, it looks like Shough’s job goes to be to assist function New Orleans’ transition by means of a rebuilding interval. — Graziano
What’s New Orleans getting with Shough?
Shough began his school profession at Oregon, the place he backed up Justin Herbert. He missed vital time with accidents in his three seasons at Texas Tech and had his finest season in 2024 at Louisville. He has a prototypical body (6-foot-5, 225 kilos) for an NFL quarterback and makes some spectacular throws. He passes into tight home windows over the center and drops the ball into the bucket throwing downfield.
Shough stands in and makes performs within the face of stress. He protects the ball nicely and retains his eyes downfield as he climbs the pocket. He extends performs and makes off-platform throws. Shough ran nicely on the mix with a 4.63-second 40-yard sprint, and his pace makes him a menace to scramble for first downs. — Muench
