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The New Orleans Saints are under no pressure to be good this season. Undoing past mistakes will take at least a year, maybe even longer since the guy who made them is still calling the shots. Fans have begrudgingly watched the team lumber through a four-year playoffs drought and will tough it out for another season or two for the hope of a fresh start. First-year Saints head coach Kellen Moore will have considerable leeway in how he forges this new era of Big Easy football.
But what the city wants to see is a concrete plan. Although the Saints presented the outline of a blueprint when they selected Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough with the No. 40 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, skepticism is rising. The rookie is not progressing quite as quickly as the fan base probably hoped. What is more concerning, however, is the uncertainty that New Orleans apparently feels about the entire QB room.
Based on the team's first unofficial depth chart for the 2025-26 campaign, the Saints are still searching for short-term answers. They refused to reveal anything regarding the signal-caller hierarchy, listing second-year talent Spencer Rattler “or” Shough “or” 2023 fourth-rounder Jake Haener as the starter. You know the saying. If you have multiple quarterbacks, you don't have a quarterback.
Yes, there is still almost a month to go before the Saints' season opener, and yes, they have yet to even play a preseason game. A camp competition can also help push young players forward. Clarity is vital, though, especially when it concerns this franchise. Longtime general manager Mickey Loomis was forced to pivot after Derek Carr retired, but he knew the situation was already murky. The front office should have been more prepared.
Now, a QB free-for-all is evidentially taking place in Metairie, Louisiana. None of the candidates have inspired much confidence to this point, which means there is a possibility the ultimate depth chart decision ends up being more about who is the best of the rest rather than who outright snatches the role. Translation: patience is a virtue.
The Saints still have much to figure out before training camp ends
Regardless of who takes snaps under center this season, attaining stability behind a suspect offensive line will be grueling. Hence, it is wise to ease Tyler Shough into the QB 1 slot.
Growing pains are inevitable, especially since he played only one full season during his long yet injury-plagued college career. But one expects a second-round pick to have a better feel for the game during training camp. Shough has struggled thus far. New Orleans is hoping that his noteworthy physical tools, which include arm strength and a 6-foot-5 frame, will consistently shine on the practice field and during preseason.
This prospect is not supposed to be a project, however. He will turn 26 years old by the end of September. He also does not have a fifth-year option in his contract like first-rounders do, so there is less time to evaluate him. There is no time to waste. The Saints tabbed Tyler Shough as a potential long-term starting quarterback, choosing him over Shedeur Sanders.
The Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year just played well in his preseason debut with the Cleveland Browns. Fair or not, Shough will be under enormous pressure to do the same when New Orleans battles the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
Can either Rattler or Haener work as a short-term plan?
If the Saints rookie is not ready to take the majority of snaps under center, then Kellen Moore will have to trust either Spencer Rattler or Jake Haener to run the offense at the start of the campaign. The former will start in the team's preseason opener and is the current favorite to win the job, while the latter is seemingly in a distant third behind Shough.
Rattler already has six starts under his belt, throwing for 1,317 yards and four touchdowns during the 2024-25 campaign. He completed just 57 percent of his passes and tossed five interceptions, struggling profusely to move the chains behind a porous offensive line and with a depleted wide receiver room. The problem is, though, the circumstances may not be much better this year. Chris Olave keeps suffering concussions, Rashid Shaheed is coming off a knee injury and the O-line remains a mystery.
We already know what Rattler can do under sub-optimal conditions. Is it worth giving him another shot? The fifth-round selection's supporters can justifiably argue that his background has prepared him for this daunting undertaking.
Rattler was the No. 1 recruit in the 2019 class, ranking above both Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix. He fell out of favor at Oklahoma, losing out to Caleb Williams, while his aforementioned contemporaries thrived in college (Daniels won the Heisman Trophy in 2023) and competed in the NFL playoffs last season. The Arizona native took a more unconventional route to the pros, finding his way at South Carolina before hearing his name called on Day 3 of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Maybe the man who has fallen from grace and picked himself up is the perfect bridge QB for this adversity-stricken squad.
New Orleans must make the best out of a tough situation
Who Dat Nation anticipates plenty of anguish this year. Some are even prepared to revisit the New Orleans “Aints” days. A depth chart with no certainty at quarterback will only breed more anxiety amongst them. This organization owes it to the people who emotionally and financially invest in this diminishing product to provide reasons for hope.
That is the bar for the 2025-26 season. Not a divisional title, Not a Wild Card berth. And not even a winning campaign. The people need to know that Mickey Loomis can steer the front office through this turbulence. They need to know they can trust Moore to motivate his guys enough to play above their collective talent grade. They want to see resilience even when the outcome is bleak. That is the bare minimum New Orleans deserves from its Saints.
It is up to the higher-ups and coaching staff to make that happen, and it starts by selecting the right quarterback. The “ors” next to Spencer Rattler, Tyler Shough and Jake Haener will suffice for now, but a clear vision must soon emerge. Then, and only then, can the team and its fans officially enter this rebuilding phase.
