The Saints used a first- or second-round pick on a quarterback for the primary time in 54 years, but despite Derek Carr‘s retirement, Tyler Shough will begin his rookie season as a backup.
Recent Orleans has named Spencer Rattler as its Week 1 starter, the team announced Tuesday. The 2024 fifth-round pick battled Shough during a monthslong competition, this yr’s last QB battle to wrap. It will now mean nearly a fourth of the league (seven teams) can be starting a 2024 draftee at quarterback to open the season. Rattler joins Michael Penix Jr., Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy in being set to start out in Week 1 for the primary time.
Rattler finished the preseason 30 of 43 for 295 yards with a touchdown and an interception; Shough was 36 of 54 for 333 yards — also adding one TD and one INT. The Saints cut their third-stringer, Jake Haener, earlier today. Haener had initially been a part of the competition, nevertheless it became a Rattler-Shough matchup as the method wore on.
This decision is unlikely to encourage an excessive amount of confidence amongst Saints fans, especially with a highly drafted rookie not doing enough to unseat a player who didn’t impress as Carr’s primary fill-in last season. Rattler lost each of his six starts, with the Saints losing five of those games by double digits. Rattler accomplished 57% of his passes for 1,317 yards as a rookie, closing the part-time starter yr with a 4:5 TD-INT ratio. That said, Rattler was working with a forged of backup wide receivers — because of the season-ending injuries sustained by Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed — during most of his time replacing Carr.
Olave and Shaheed are back at work ahead of Rattler’s first Week 1 opportunity, and the Saints reunited with Brandin Cooks this offseason. Additionally they brought in Devaughn Vele via trade, sending fourth- and seventh-round picks to the Broncos for a 6-foot-5 pass catcher who saw the second-most snaps amongst Denver wide receivers last season. This offers the Saints a solid top 4 a yr after they were trotting out backup-level cogs for much of the season.
Kellen Moore gave Rattler the primary preseason start, and that proved telling. Still, the ex-Oklahoma and South Carolina starter’s grip on the job could be tenuous. It stands to reason the Saints will need to see what they’ve in Shough, so a fast hook wouldn’t be surprising. The Saints usually are not projected to be a playoff contender, even with a number of proven veterans still rostered, and the team can be connected to what looks like a greater QB class (in comparison with 2025, at the least) ahead of next yr’s draft. With the prospect of a first-round investment in a passer looming in 2026, Shough’s place on the team is a little more interesting after today’s news.
Connected to just a few arms in April, the Saints were among the many QB-needy teams to pass on Shedeur Sanders twice. They fortified their O-line with Kelvin Banks Jr. at No. 9 after which added Shough at 40. Shough gained steam through the pre-draft process, impressing despite spending seven years in college — Shough is a yr older than Rattler — and carrying a notable injury history into the NFL. But the previous Louisville, Texas Tech and Oregon option will begin the season as a backup. It will stall the Saints’ evaluation of a soon-to-be 26-year-old rookie.
Three years remain on Rattler’s rookie contract. The Saints haven’t drafted a first-round QB since Archie Manning in 1971; it is going to be interesting to see if anything Rattler or Shough do that season could prevent the Saints from a higher-profile QB investment next yr. For now, Rattler has the keys and can work behind an O-line housing 4 first-round picks (and standout center Erik McCoy, a former second-rounder).