He’s had to watch most of Tyler Shough’s success from the sideline while managing a couple of different injuries, but Alvin Kamara has been impressed by the New Orleans Saints‘ rookie quarterback. Kamara spoke about Shough in a candid, wide-ranging interview with his old teammate Terron Armstead.
“I see a player who’s ready to take more responsibility,” Kamara said of the first-year QB. “He has the intangibles where it helps him on the field. He’s always looking to make something out of nothing.”
That ability to escape pressure and keep plays alive is telling. As Shough gets more experience, Kamara sees the vision for building an offense around him: “You see a quarterback that makes you feel good about where you’re going in your future.”
It may feel disingenuous to call a 26-year old quarterback inexperienced, but Shough only dropped back to pass 1,095 times in his college career. He’s almost a third of the way there (305) through his time with the Saints. He’s actively learning, developing, and preparing to play his best football. And that’s encouraging. If Shough can finish strong these last two weeks and get a full offseason of work in with new weapons and protection, the Saints could have a real chance of competing next year.
Will Kamara be part of it? Time will tell. He has a decision to make in the spring after missing the last four and a half games with knee and ankle injuries. Kamara signed a contract extension last year that tied him to the Saints through 2026, guaranteeing $18.2 million of his $18.6 million salary cap hit. So the ball is in his court. And he sure sounds like someone eager to help Shough take the next step. We’ll see how it plays out.