The quarterback baton in New Orleans officially changed hands after a rocky Week 8. Spencer Rattler was pulled versus the Buccaneers, and rookie Tyler Shough stepped in as the Saints searched for a spark. Rattler’s 15-for-139 line with an interception and three sacks underlined an offense stuck in neutral, prompting head coach Kellen Moore to test the rookie’s tempo and poise down 17-3.

Adam Schefter reported that Moore told reporters the plan is to start Shough for the remainder of the season. The Saints are making the move with development and stability in mind, giving their second-round pick a clear runway to grow without week-to-week uncertainty.

It’s a decisive pivot for a 1-7 team that has cycled through answers since Derek Carr’s retirement. Shough’s profile, size, quick-trigger verve, and willingness to attack the intermediate windows fit Moore’s rhythm-based concepts.

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Expect more defined reads, play-action to buy time behind a reshuffled line, and designed movement to simplify the picture. Moore has emphasized execution and ball security; the rookie’s mandate is to keep the operation on schedule and cut the negative plays that buried drives with Rattler.

Rattler wasn’t disastrous; he has hovered around a 1:1 TD-INT pace and moved the ball in spurts, but the ceiling has felt capped. With the season firmly in evaluation mode, New Orleans is choosing reps over placeholders. Shough gets the Rams in Week 9 as his first true QB1 audition, then a slate with multiple top-10 defenses that should accelerate his learning curve.

What success looks like now: cleaner protection calls, quicker answers versus pressure, and a steadier red-zone plan. If Shough hits those checkpoints, the Saints can exit 2025 with a clearer view of their franchise trajectory and their draft priorities around him.