Tyler Shough’s road to becoming a starting quarterback has all of sudden become a lot smoother than the New Orleans' street he recently encountered.
The latter road busted the tires on his truck when he hit one of those notorious New Orleans potholes.
But the other road – the one that may lead him to taking the first snap for the New Orleans Saints this season- has one less obstacle in it now that Derek Carr announced his retirement Saturday morning.
Carr’s return this season was already questionable after the news in April that he was dealing with a shoulder injury. Now that Carr has surprisingly called it quits, Shough moves closer to the front of the line to grab the keys to Kellen Moore’s offense. Opportunity sometimes knocks fast in the NFL and for Shough it comes just 15 days after the Saints drafted him in the second round.
This was the third straight year the Saints drafted a quarterback after selecting Jake Haener in the fourth round two years ago and Spencer Rattler in the fifth round last year.
Now it'll be that trio battling in training camp for the starting job with the hopes of bringing some stability to a position that hasn’t had any since Drew Brees retired.
“We will be very patient with it and make sure all these guys get to compete at a really high level,” Moore said Saturday after the team’s rookie minicamp.
Whichever quarterback wins the job, this feels like a clean slate for the Saints. For the first time since 2006, the Saints will start a season with both a new head coach and a new quarterback. That season - the arrival of Sean Payton and Brees - turned out to be a special one. It set the groundwork for all the expectations that have surrounded Saints' football ever since.
While Moore says there will be a competition, you have to think Shough is the early favorite. Moore saw enough in Shough to use a high second round pick on him. He got his guy, just like Payton got his 19 years ago.
Shough will be 26 in September, just a year younger than a then-27-year-old Brees was when he came to rescue New Orleans.
Nobody knew how good Brees would be, much like nobody knows how good Shough will be.
Time eventually will tell.
You could see glimpses of Shough's arm talent in Saturday’s practice when he completed his first seven passes before finally throwing an incompletion. Many of those throws were darts. But it's way too early to read anything into it. This was just in 7-on-7 drills competing against rookies. No pads. No tackling. No pass rush. And no high stakes.
The real competition comes in training camp when guys like Chase Young and Demario Davis are running towards Shough while Rattler and Haener are looking over his shoulder trying to win the same job he’s trying to win.
Even in limited work Saturday, Moore likes what he's seen so far in Shough.
“For these quarterbacks, a lot of times really what you care about is how they command the huddle and command the whole operation,” Moore said. “New system, new language and all those things associated with it. Tyler has hopped in and done a good job of coming in here and taking control of it.”
When addressing the media after practice, Shough was just as poised and polished.
“The biggest thing I want to continue to do is play free,” Shough said. “A lot of things you can’t control. But you can control your preparation, your attitude and your effort. That’s one thing I’m going to do.”
Moore informed Shough about Carr’s retirement right before Saturday’s practice.
“Whoever is on the roster, I’ve got to continue to grow and get better and do my best to elevate the quarterback room,” Shough said. “I was going to come in regardless, him being here or not, and continue to grow.”
Last week, Shough organized a throwing session at Tulane with teammates like tight end Juwan Johnson and receiver Bub Means.
His teammates have noticed the maturity already.
“He has a leadership mentality and he’s going about it in a professional way,” said running back Devin Neal, the Saints’ sixth round draft pick.
Shough is just two weeks on the job and he knows there’s a long way to go. He's learning his new job and learning a new city that is ready to embrace him if he wins the job.
He’s eaten charbroiled oysters and fleur-de-lis shrimp from Drago’s. He's already felt just how brutal the south Louisiana humidity can be. (Trust me, Tyler. You ain't seen nothing yet). And he's received advice about the city from former Saints’ punter Thomas Morstead, whose No. 6 jersey Shough will don. And oh yeah, he’s even already had his official “welcome to New Orleans” moment.
“I feel like I’m already engrained in New Orleans because I've already popped a tire in a pothole,” Shough said.
Potholes and humidity aside, he's seen the positives, too. He's already got a feel for just what Saints’ football means around here.
“I resonate with it completely,” Shough said. “That’s kinda what I want to play with is that passion.”
That passion will win fans over if Shough can win games.
But before he wins games, he first has to win the starting job.
After Carr’s retirement, Shough is one step closer.
“I’ve got so much work to do,” Shough said. “I’m a rookie coming in and I’ve got to earn my keep.”