Why Saints feel 'great' about moving forward with Tyler Shough as starting QB after strong rookie season
Shough showed marked improvement as the Saints closed out the season as one of the NFL's hottest teams
By
Bryan DeArdo
•
2 min read
Tyler Shough seems to have parlayed his successful rookie season into being the New Orleans Saints' starting quarterback moving forward. Saints general manager Mickey Loomis and coach Kellen Moore told reporters Wednesday that they are committed to Shough leading their offense entering the 2026 season.
The third quarterback selected in last year's draft, Shough was inserted into the starting lineup in place of Spencer Rattler following the Saints' 1-7 start. New Orleans went 5-4 in games that Shough started, including winning four of their final five games to finish 6-11.
"We feel great with Tyler," Moore said. "Tyler has done an awesome job through this entire process. He's gotten a ton better. He's taken advantage of a bunch of opportunities we're excited to have full offseason to build."
The 40th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Shough, 26, likely would have been drafted higher if not for his extensive injury history in college while playing for three different schools. Those injuries contributed to Shough receiving extra eligibility, which led to him being the oldest quarterback in last year's draft.
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When fully healthy during his lone season at Louisville in 2024, Shough put up impressive numbers -- 3,195 yards and 23 touchdowns -- while playing in 12 games during his lone season at Louisville.
As a rookie, Shough showed marked improvement as the season progressed. He finished the year with a 67.6% completion percentage and a 91.3 quarterback rating as the Saints closed out the season as one of the NFL's hottest teams.
While his success didn't come as a surprise to Loomis or Moore, they acknowledged that Shough may have developed quicker than they would have anticipated -- especially after he lost the starting job to Rattler in training camp.
"We thought a lot of him going into the draft," Loomis said. "I don't think surprising is the right word. Probably progressed a little faster than maybe we expected, but I think our coaches did a great job with him. I think our players embraced his opportunity, and obviously the player himself embraced his opportunity."
Adding to Shough's appeal is the fact that he is under a rookie contract.
"I think it's pretty well documented that teams that have a quarterback on a rookie deal have been able to do some things and have some success," Loomis said. "So part of that is just building your roster and managing it over, you know, the two, three, four, year period that you're facing."
With Shough in place at quarterback, the Saints can look at other positions in the upcoming NFL Draft, starting with their first-round pick at No. 8 overall.
