Saints Face Uncertainty as Backup QB Trio Sparks Questions About Season’s Future

It’s a strange, almost puzzling crossroads for the New Orleans Saints now that Derek Carr has decided to hang up his cleats. With Carr out of the picture, the team’s quarterback room suddenly looks like a gamble—a trio of signal-callers who, together, have yet to notch a win as NFL starters. On one hand, you have Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener, both relatively unproven and still fresh from last season’s struggles when they filled in during Carr’s injury spells. On the other, there’s Tyler Shough—a seasoned college veteran drafted with Carr’s uncertain health looming large—a player the Saints clearly see as their future at the position. And then, of course, Taysom Hill, who’s intriguingly listed as a tight end but easily holds the most NFL starting experience and success on the roster by a wide margin. What’s clear? The coming months will unleash one of the most open and intriguing quarterback battles in the league as these men vie to lead the Saints into a new era. Honestly, I can’t wait to see how it all shakes out. LEARN MORE

Whether the Saints bring in another quarterback remains to be seen, but at the moment they appear set for a wide-open, three-way training camp competition.Taysom Hill is listed as a tight end on the Saints’ roster but is actually their most experienced NFL quarterback, with a career record of 7-2 as a starter and a stat line of 193 completions on 302 attempts, for 2,369 yards with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Hill has more wins, completions, attempts, yards and touchdowns in his NFL career than the three quarterbacks on the roster combined.The newcomer is second-round rookie Tyler Shough, who is 25 years old after a long college career that saw him spend three years at Oregon, three years at Texas Tech and one year at Louisville. The Saints knew Carr had a significant injury to his throwing shoulder when they drafted Shough, which suggests that they see Shough as Carr’s heir apparent.Derek Carr’s retirement leaves the Saints with three quarterbacks, who have a combined record of 0-7 as NFL starters, on their roster.The holdovers from last year are 2024 fifth-round pick Spencer Rattler, and 2023 fourth-round pick Jake Haener. When Carr missed time with injuries last season, Rattler started six games and Haener started one. The Saints went 0-7 in those games, with both Rattler and Haener averaging 5.8 yards per pass.