The New Orleans Saints shocked many by selecting Louisville quarterback prospect Tyler Shough with the 40th overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft. Shough being taken in the second round was a known possibility, and the Saints were known admirers. Still, with Shedeur Sanders, the consensus second-best quarterback in the draft, still on the board, Shough may not have been expecting his phone to ring.
But ring it did, and the Saints will have some decisions to make at quarterback come September.
Who Will Be the New Orleans Saints’ Starting Quarterback in 2025?
After being selected by New Orleans, Shough faces a rare scenario for a rookie QB — not being the youngest quarterback on his new team’s roster.
Shough shares a birthday with current Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler, who is exactly one year younger than him. The former also joins veteran quarterback Derek Carr and the team’s 2023 fourth-round pick, Jake Haener.
The Saints would no doubt love for Shough to sit for a year or two, along with Rattler and Haener, while Carr continues to lead the team. But with lingering questions surrounding the health of the veteran, the rookie may find himself in a training camp battle for the team’s starting job from Day 1.
So, who will be New Orleans’ starting QB in 2025? Here is a brief breakdown of each player’s chances.
Derek Carr
If Carr is healthy and still on the team come September, it would be a shock to see anyone else start the season under center. Carr, while not one of the league’s very best quarterbacks, is a starting-caliber NFL signal-caller with a history of solid production.
Carr started 10 games in 2024, winning five, before missing the final four of the season with a fractured hand. He missed a total of seven games, and New Orleans lost them all.
Tyler Shough
Despite being the newest addition to the Saints’ QB room, Shough’s second-round draft capital makes him the second-most likely candidate to start in 2025. The seven years that Shough spent in college, however, will have raised eyebrows.
After backing up Justin Herbert (yes, five-year NFL veteran Justin Herbert) for two years at Oregon, Shough led the Pac-12 in yards per attempt (9.3) and quarterback rating (160.4) in 2020. The Ducks won the Pac-12 Championship at the end of that COVID-shortened year, Shough’s first as a starter.
He followed that up with three injury-hit years at Texas Tech, before transferring to Louisville and throwing for 3,195 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2024.
If Carr misses some, or all, of the 2025 season, Shough could have a franchise on his back come September.
Spencer Rattler
Rattler got more of an opportunity than he might have expected in 2024. A sought-after recruit out of high school, his stock steadily dived throughout college. Still, the Saints took a chance on the player’s potential, and after Carr went down in 2024, Rattler was thrust into the spotlight.
The rookie flashed some ability during his extended cameo for New Orleans, but the team’s scoreless defeat to the Green Bay Packers in Week 16 won’t be easily forgotten. There’s a lot of potential in Rattler, but his road to fulfilling it just got trickier.
Jake Haener
While both Haener and Rattler struggled in place of Carr in 2024, the former inspired far less confidence than his new teammate. The 2023 fourth-round pick completed just 46.2% of his passes last season, with one touchdown and one pick.
Barring injury, Haener was already unlikely to find himself under center again in the NFL; Shough’s arrival just put another obstacle in his way.
