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The New Orleans Saints’ quarterback Derek Carr, announced that he will be hanging up his cleats after playing for 11 seasons in the NFL. Carr had only played for the Saints for the past two seasons, but an injury to his right shoulder’s rotator cuff forced him to retire from the NFL. It is quite a disappointment for the Saints, as Carr was supposed to be their QB1 going into next season. However, now that Carr has retired from the team, who is going to replace him as the QB1 for the Saints?
The Saints currently have three quarterbacks in their rotation and they are, rookie Tyler Shough, Spencer Rattler, and Jake Haener. So who will most likely start for the Saints in the upcoming 2025-26 season? Let’s find out more.
Saints’ Quarterback Options Post-Carr Retirement
According to the latest reports from NFL Insider, Adam Schefter, Saints’ head coach Kellen Moore, will rotate all of the three quarterbacks that the Saints currently have. And they all will be battling each other to determine who will start for the Saints next season. Moore said, ” We’re going to let all three of these guys roll.” Which means that each of the three QBs will have a chance to prove who is up for the task to lead the Saints.
Rookie QB, Tyler Shough, was drafted as the 40th pick in the second-round of the 2025 NFL draft, which is the Saints’ highest-drafted quarterback ever since they took Archie Manning as the second overall pick in the 1971 NFL draft. Whereas, QBs Spencer Rattler was drafted in the 2024 NFL draft in Day 3, and Jake Haener in the 2023 NFL draft. The Saints also have Taysom Hill as a QB option, who is primarily a tight end, but can play as a QB if he needs to, and is 7-2 in his NFL career as the starting QB.
After being selected in the second round with the No. 40 pick, Tyler Shough is Saints highest-drafted QB since they took Archie Manning second overall in 1971. The Saints also drafted QBs on Day 3 in 2024, Spencer Rattler, and 2023 Jake Haener. Rattler and Haener are a combined… https://t.co/Af0pf25T62
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 10, 2025
While we cannot say for sure, at the moment, about who’s likely going to start, as Kellen Moore will be experimenting with his QB lineup, Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler combined for 0-7 last season as the starting quarterbacks. Since the Saints’ took a chance to draft Shough in the second draft, we have a reason to believe that Moore may start him as QB1, if he performs up to a certain standard.
Another QB option that the Saints have is pursuing Aaron Rodgers, who has been looking for a new team to play for ever since he was let go by the New York Jets. There’s a lot of feasible options for the Saints, but who will they pick as their new QB1, we’ll know soon enough.
Also Read: Saints QB Derek Carr Shocks NFL with Retirement at Age 34