Sportsnaut
The New Orleans Saints head into the 2025 NFL season hoping to see either Spencer Rattler or Tyler Shough prove that they can be a long-term starting quarterback for the franchise. As for who gets the first crack at it, head coach Kellen Moore is finally sharing when he’ll decide who is the Saints’ starting quarterback.
Following Saturday’s preseason finale against the Denver Broncos, Moore told reporters that he’ll likely decide in the next few days who will start for New Orleans in the regular-season opener.
“I think it’s important that we collaborate and talk through this thing. That’s an important aspect of this thing. Everyone’s got their different perspectives and different exposures and so that would be really, really important. Ultimately, I know I have to make a decision and it’s a challenging one because these guys have put everything into this. They’ve been very, very close.”
Kellen Moore on deciding who will be the New Orleans Saints starting QB in Week 1 (via Katherine Terrell of ESPN)
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New Orleans finished the preseason without a win, and the two quarterbacks primarily battling for the starting job had up-and-down performances. On Saturday against Denver, Shough scored a rushing touchdown and tied with Devin Neal for the team high in rushing yards (20). However, the rookie quarterback completed just 12 of 20 pass attempts, finishing with a 73.3 QB rating while averaging 5.1 yards per attempt.
Shough, selected with the 40th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, entered Saints training camp as the favorite to become the starter in Week 1. However, the 25-year-old quarterback struggled in practice and had issues in the preseason, opening the door for Rattler to win the job.
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Rattler, the 150th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, outperformed Shough on the practice field. In preseason action, though, the two largely performed the same, with the starter of each exhibition game struggling and then the No. 2 quarterback coming in and playing relatively well against backups.
If the Saints’ coaching staff is making the decision purely based on how each quarterback performed this summer, Rattler seems likely to be the starter. The 24-year-old quarterback already has more starting NFL experience than Shough, and he offers better physical tools. Regardless of who Moore picks as the starter, both young signal-callers will get plenty of opportunities to prove themselves this season.
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