After Derek Carr abruptly retired from the NFL, the New Orleans Saints were left with a massive hole at quarterback. First-year coach Kellen Moore must make a difficult decision. Will he start a rookie at quarterback or turn to someone with a little more experience? View the details of the Saints’ QB training camp battle.
Derek Carr’s Retirement Means Saints Need New QB
#Saints QB Derek Carr, dealing with a shoulder injury that requires surgery that would knock him out for the 2025 season, is retiring, per The Insiders.
While Carr tried an injection and rehab, it wouldn’t allow him to be 100% until another procedure. Both sides move on. pic.twitter.com/sHbCq9nqVw
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 10, 2025
Carr shocked the football world when he announced his retirement from the NFL in May.
Carr was dealing with a shoulder injury that required surgery and would cause him to miss the 2025 season. Instead of undergoing the surgery and rehabbing, Carr opted to retire after 11 seasons.
Carr had two years remaining on his four-year, $150 million contract. Carr left $30 million guaranteed that he would have received in 2025.
Carr ends his career having made over $200 million in his career, thanks to the $10 million roster bonus he will receive this year.
Saints QB Competition
If Tyler Shough doesn't report to #Saints training camp due to ongoing contract negotiations. This decision may not be beneficial for him from a competitive standpoint, as he will miss valuable practice reps. Additionally, it could strengthen Spencer Rattler's case for being the…
— Timothy J Jones (@tjayjones8) July 14, 2025
With Carr out, who will start the season at quarterback for the Saints?
The leading candidate is Tyler Shough, the second-round pick out of Louisville. Shough enters the league as a 25-year-old rookie after seven seasons in college.
Shough’s best season came in 2024 as a member of the Louisville Cardinals. Shough threw for 3,195 yards, 23 touchdowns, and six interceptions.
There’s an interesting wrinkle with Shough. He has not signed a contract with the Saints. 30 of 32 sound-round picks, including Shough, have not signed contracts. Houston’s Jayden Higgins and Cleveland’s Carson Schwesinger are the only two second-round picks who have signed.
Schwesinger and Higgins received fully guaranteed rookie contracts, the first two second-round picks in NFL history with guaranteed contracts.
Now, every second-round pick is hoping for a guaranteed contract. This throws a wrench into the Saints’ plans to play Shough if he misses part of training camp due to a contract dispute.
Second-year quarterback Spencer Rattler will battle Shough for the starting position. Due to Carr’s injuries last season, Rattler appeared in seven games and made six starts. Unfortunately, the Saints were 0-6 in his starts.
Rattler did not have the benefit of having a fully healthy Saints offense, as Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and Alvin Kamara all missed multiple games across those six starts.
Rattler threw for 1,317 yards, four touchdowns, and five interceptions with a 57 percent completion rate.
First and foremost, Shough has to sign a contract and report to training camp. If that happens, he will be the starter in Week 1.
Predicted Winner: Tyler Shough
