The NFL world was shocked when New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr recently announced his retirement from the league. The rumors began early this offseason when Carr reportedly first noticed some pain in the shoulder of his throwing arm.
The 34-year-old quarterback had to decide between undergoing a possibly season-ending surgery immediately or walking away. The four-time Pro Bowler chose the latter, blowing open the competition for the starting quarterback at New Orleans.
“We Are Putting in Our Work” – Brandin Cooks on QB1 Battle and Saints’ Season Outlook
The Saints’ current group includes Jake Haener, Spencer Rattler, and rookies Tyler Shough and Hunter Dekkers. Head coach Kellen Moore has left the competition wide open, and newly acquired Saints’ WR Brandon Cooks suggests the competition would bring the best out of the young group.
Carr’s unforeseen retirement leaves the Saints without their expected starting quarterback. Rumors have linked the Saints to signal-callers such as Aaron Rodgers or Kirk Cousins, but there is still no clarity surrounding the same.
Haener, Rattler, and Shough were thrust into a sudden quarterback competition after Carr’s retirement, and Cooks says it’s been fun watching the battle play out through the offseason.
“Yeah, absolutely, it should bring the best out of you,” Cooks told reporters during his football camp. “It’s fun seeing those guys compete. All three of them are having a great spring. So, it’s going to be fun to watch that competition.”
WR Brandin Cooks on Saints’ QB battle: “It’s going to be fun to watch that competition”https://t.co/nEy9bBna9p pic.twitter.com/F2VNxT5soW
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) May 25, 2025
However, the three-man competition looks to have been reduced to two-man competition for the foreseeable future after Haener suffered an oblique strain at the start of OTAs. But Shough and Rattler continue to march on.
“They’re playing with a lot of confidence, both of those guys,” Cooks said of Shough and Rattler. “And you can see the competition going on. They can definitely sling it. So, I look forward to continuing to see that grow.”
Saints head coach Kellen Moore has said that the selection process for the team’s next quarterback will be a “fair competition.” However, some feel that Shough gives the team the best odds of winning. Either way, no big outcomes are expected out of New Orleans’ 2026 season, and Cooks and the Saints are happy to be the underdogs.
“At the end of the day, we all start 0-0. It doesn’t matter what you did last year,” Cooks said. “It don’t matter what you did the previous year. It’s a new slate for us and you can call it underdog or whatever the case may be, but we are putting in our work. We will let our actions do the talk come Sundays during the season.”
The Saints selected Cooks in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, and he’s since played for five teams. With four trades in his career, the 2025 offseason marked his first appearance in free agency, and he ended up reuniting with the Saints, signing a two-year deal worth $13 million.