New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback Tyler Shough is trying to stay poised as he learns the ropes. Shough has an opportunity to be the starting quarterback for the team, after veteran Derek Carr announced he's retiring from football. Carr was out hurt for the Saints this offseason.

Shough is not getting ahead of himself, despite being immediately given a big opportunity.

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“I think for me it's just going through the same process for minicamp, trying to learn the playbook and get to know my teammates as much as I can and do everything I can to continue to get better,” Shough said, per the team.

“(Coach) Kellen (Moore) told me this morning (about Carr's retirement) and that was the extent of it, and we went out to practice and had a lot of fun.”

Shough has had his share of injuries too. The quarterback lost most of the 2023 season at Texas Tech due to a leg injury. In 2024, Shough played for Louisville where he threw for 3,195 yards. He also tossed 23 touchdown passes for the Cardinals.

He was then selected in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Saints.

“That's all you can ask for is an opportunity, at any position,” he added. “And I'm going to treat it the same way, as if whoever is on the roster, I've got to continue to grow and get better and do my best to elevate the QB room and the team.”

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The Saints clearly have a lot of faith in Shough. Shough was the third quarterback selected in the draft this season. New Orleans decided to take him over Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel and Jalen Milroe, among others.

“As you went through the draft process, we felt like adding a quarterback to that room would have been very valuable under all circumstances,” Saints head coach Kellen Moore said. “As Derek's injury became something, there's a little bit more awareness to it but we were navigating it originally with that plan of if someone fell into a situation and if the board fell and that player presented itself, we'd be ready to take a quarterback in a number of situations. We felt like it played out pretty well for us.”

Time will tell if Shough gets the starting nod. New Orleans also has Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener at quarterback at the moment.

The squad finished the 2024 season with a 5-12 record.