There has been no shortage of intrigue when it comes to the most important position in the New Orleans sports universe this offseason.
A quick recap: The New Orleans Saints hired head coach Kellen Moore, who spoke carefully in his introductory press conference when asked if the team was committed to Derek Carr as its starter. About two months later, news spread that Carr was dealing with a serious injury that cast doubt on his 2025 availability. A few weeks after that, the Saints selected Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough with the No. 40 overall pick. A few weeks after that, Carr announced his shocking retirement from football. And throughout the summer, the Saints quarterbacks have been more scrutinized than they have been in some time.
The optimist will look at this group and be thankful the Saints are finally getting a young, cheap reset at the position with some potential for hope in the future. The pessimist (realist?) will be scared off by the glaring lack of proven experience and draft pedigree. Whatever happens, it will at the very least be interesting.
New Orleans is guaranteed to go into the 2025 season with a different opening day starter than last season, which will mark the third different Week 1 starter in the five seasons since Drew Brees announced his retirement. The Saints really hope they won’t need to see what’s behind door No. 4 in 2026.
Depth chart (name, height, weight, NFL experience)
Spencer Rattler, 6-0, 211, 2
-or-
Tyler Shough, 6-5, 219, R
-or-
Jake Haener, 6-1, 200, 3
Hunter Dekkers, 6-3, 215, R
Best case
Whether it’s rookie second-rounder Tyler Shough or second-year player Spencer Rattler, the Saints just need to see some signs that they have a potential franchise building block out of one of their two young quarterbacks. Jake Haener is technically still in this competition, but he felt like a long shot before an oblique injury zapped most of his summer.
Technically, it would be best for the franchise if Shough was the answer. He would give the Saints another year of affordable control on a rookie contract, and it would also present a win for the new regime to have hand-picked its quarterback. But he’s going to have to beat out Rattler, who looked more poised this summer after a turbulent rookie season.
Both of those young passers possess big-time arms, both are athletic enough to make plays on the move and both will flash some creativity as throwers. In terms of pure ability, Shough may have a slight edge over Rattler, and his prototype size is an added benefit.
What remains to be seen from either passer is how well they can operate Moore’s offense and how well they can navigate pressure — the latter being something Rattler struggled with last year and something Shough struggled with in college.
To be clear, the odds aren’t great for either Shough or Rattler: The track record for quarterbacks drafted outside of the first round is not great, and for every Dak Prescott (fourth round, 135th overall) there are a dozen Ian Books (fourth round, 133rd overall). If the Saints have a franchise quarterback on this roster, he will be an historical outlier.
While it would be a pleasant surprise, feeling good about the future of the position in New Orleans doesn’t necessarily have to equate to wins this year. The Patriots feel they have a cornerstone player in Drake Maye, and the team went 3-9 in games he started in his 2024 rookie season.
Whoever it is, they just need to show reason to believe they’re the guy.
Worst case
What you may be thinking here is that the worst-case scenario is for the quarterback play to be rotten and the Saints finish with one of the worst records in football. But there’s a twist on that which would be even less desirable.
Let’s say the core pieces of the Saints roster stay healthy over the course of the season and are actually much better than some around the league think they are, giving the team itself a higher floor — high enough that the Saints are able to win, say, seven games even with bad quarterback play.
If New Orleans gets through this season with a middle-of-the-pack record and also clearly does not have a plausible solution at quarterback, that is the worst-case scenario. Next year’s draft class at quarterback should theoretically be better than this year’s, but if the Saints go into the draft with a pick in the teens needing a passer, they might be out of luck again.
One way or another, the Saints could really use some long-term clarity on the quarterback situation this year. If they’re good, then they are set. If they’re awful, there is nothing stopping them from using a top-five pick on a quarterback in 2026. Don’t be in the middle.
A prediction in 10 words or less
Shough wins a tight competition and keeps the job.