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 extensive open.
The staff chosen Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough with the No. 40 choose on Friday night time after bypassing the place with their first-round choose (New Orleans chosen Texas offensive deal with Kelvin Banks Jr. at No. 9).
Shough will arrive in New Orleans amid questions on Carr, who has not been in attendance through the voluntary a part of the offseason program.
The Saints confirmed Carr has a shoulder damage 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 staff will “let that course of play itself out.”
If Carr elects to steer clear of the staff 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 come back in there and compete and do every part I can to make the staff higher,” Shough mentioned Friday after being drafted. “And I feel for my state of affairs, that is my entire objective and I am simply actually excited to work with the coaches and see lots of my shut pals and teammates which might be already there. So, simply tremendous fired up for the chance and clearly an amazing franchise and an amazing 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 state of affairs with assist from NFL insider Dan Graziano, plus participant evaluation from Steve Muench. — Terrell
With uncertainty round Carr’s damage, 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 basic supervisor Mickey Loomis, who has been in his place since 2002, has all the time made it a degree to attempt to get his coach the quarterback he wished. Sean Payton wished free agent Drew Brees, and Dennis Allen wished 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 could be their method of giving the brand new coach his quarterback. It actually appears that method 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 choose final 12 months. Whereas Rattler went 0-6 in his begins for an injured Carr, it was beneath troublesome circumstances that included Allen being fired through the season and a slew of accidents on offense.
Nevertheless, it is primarily a clean slate with a brand new teaching employees in place, and Rattler, who’s a 12 months youthful than Shough, will doubtless get an opportunity to attempt to show himself in camp in opposition to 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 employees on the Senior Bowl, Louisville’s professional day and through a pre-draft go to on April 11 — the day information of Carr’s damage broke publicly. Shough mentioned that he is already had good conversations with Moore, and so they talked in depth about his duties at Louisville and the way he seen the sport.
Shough mentioned his go to with Moore was one among his favorites from the draft course of as a result of Moore had a singular perspective on how he seen adverse performs.
“You are going to have to speak about dangerous performs and dangerous performs are going to occur,” Shough mentioned. “And you are going to have good ones, however each time these dangerous performs come, how do you analyze it? And he by no means seen it as a adverse. 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’ll develop each single snap and play. So I like that and I took lots out of it.” — Terrell
Does this transfer assist the Saints’ playoff possibilities in a often wide-open NFC South?
I imply… I suppose, 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 to play immediately. I simply do not understand how many individuals had been sitting round this offseason pondering ideas that included the phrase “Saints” and likewise the phrases “playoff possibilities.” If Shough is the starter, he’ll be a rookie quarterback enjoying for a first-time head coach on a staff with, frankly, lots of query marks on the roster. Even after utilizing their first-round choose on an offensive lineman, the Saints’ line nonetheless wants work. The protection is growing older. The receivers have had issues staying wholesome.
There’s lots of draft left and everybody has at the least a point of hope this time of 12 months. Who is aware of? Possibly 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 seems 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 faculty 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 velocity makes him a risk to scramble for first downs. — Muench
