The New Orleans Saints are struggling to start the Kellen Moore era. New Orleans is 1-7 after suffering another brutal loss in Week 8 against Tampa Bay. Now the Saints are ready to make a change at quarterback in the hopes of bringing some life to their offense.
The Saints are making rookie Tyler Shough their new starting quarterback, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
Moore informed both Shough and Spencer Rattler of the decision on Tuesday.
New Orleans benched Rattler for Shough during Sunday's loss, the first sign that change could be coming soon.
Moore also said on Monday that he would not commit to a starting quarterback before Week 9's game against the Rams.
“We're just not executing and playing at a high enough standard, and we've got to find a way to move the football consistently, protect the football and score points,” Moore said via Katherine Terrell of ESPN. “And so, this is a pure full offensive evaluation point. … I think we just got to evaluate this whole thing in the next 48 hours, find the solutions that give us the best chance to win.”
As often happens in the NFL, Moore decided to make a change soon after that statement.
Will Tyler Shough be an upgrade over Spencer Rattler?
Rattler was a solid starter for the Saints, though he only managed to lead the team to one win. So will the Saints be better off with their rookie QB?
The Saints got some decent production out of Rattler, who mostly played mistake-free football over his eight-game stretch as a starter. He logged 1,586 passing yards with eight touchdowns and five interceptions.
New Orleans is clearly in a rebuilding season, so the expectations may not be that high for Shough. As long as he shows signs of improvement, the Saints will likely be pleased that they made a change at quarterback.
That said, Rattler did not set the bar very high himself. So it is entirely possible that Shough is an immediate upgrade.
But Shough will face a tough test in Week 9 as he makes his first start as an NFL quarterback.
Saints at Rams kicks off at 4:05PM ET on Sunday.
