NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – There may still be some familiar names on the Saints’ roster, but it’s officially a new era on Airline Drive heading into the summer of 2025.
After hiring Super Bowl Champion Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore as their new head coach, the Saints will also start fresh at quarterback.
With the retirement of Derek Carr, the job for starting quarterback is now a head-to-head competition between second-round draft pick Tyler Shough and second-year player Spencer Rattler.
The battle for the most coveted position in football is an unusual situation for the Saints to be in. In 2021, now utility player Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston fought for the chance to be the successor to Drew Brees.
Before Brees’s 15-year run in New Orleans, the last time Saints fans witnessed a quarterback competition was when Jeff Blake attempted to reclaim his job from Aaron Brooks in the preseason of 2001. In the previous season, Blake led the Saints to a 7-4 record before breaking his foot. Brooks came off the bench and led the Saints to their first playoff win in franchise history, and eventually edged out Blake for the starting job the next season.
SAINTS QB STORIES
Also unusual, there are no vets at quarterback for the Saints, and they all have zero NFL wins on their resumes.
Despite the lack of experience, Shough and Rattler now find themselves trying to seize the moment. After Week 1 of OTAs, Moore says all quarterbacks have seen the field with the first-team offense, including undrafted free agent Hunter Dekkers and Jake Haener before injury.
“I saw a lot,” said Fox 8 sports anchor Sean Fazende on the latest episode of the Overtime podcast. “I saw a guy in Spencer Rattler who looks like he’s improved a lot from last year to this year. A guy that’s more decisive and more comfortable.”
Spencer Rattler & Tyler Shough had great 7 on 7 sessions
Rattler 8/8 with back to back darts to Chris Olave on a dig and Michael Jacobsen on a seam
Shough 7/8 with a 50+ yard completion to Shaheed on a sluggo
— Sean FazendeFOX8 (@SeanFazendeFOX8) May 22, 2025
With the improvement of Rattler, Shough is also showing he has the tools to win the job.
“I also saw a guy in Tyler Shough that continues to display big arm talent,” Fazende said.
Both quarterbacks have had peaks and valleys in OTAs so far, but both appeared to get strong in the second series of seven-on-seven.
“In the second set of four, that’s when you saw Spencer Rattler make those two throws, they were tight-window throws,” Fox 8 sports reporter Andre Johnson Jr. said on Overtime.
After Rattler’s run, that’s when Shough threw for the only touchdown of the day, a 50-yard pump fake and bomb to Rashid Shaheed.
Through strengths and weaknesses, the different styles between Shough and Rattler are already on display.
“The main difference between the two, seven of those eight throws Shough made were from the pocket,” Johnson said. “But Rattler rolled out more, taking a little longer to deliver those plays than Shough.”
MORE SAINTS
Finding a quarterback in the post-Brees era Saints has proven to be a challenge for New Orleans. Efforts to bridge that role with Winston, Carr, and others did not work out.
While the current competition is a real one, it will likely be several months before anyone knows who will take up the mantle on a long-term basis.
For now, New Orleans is wading into unknown waters amid a new dawn.
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