The New Orleans Saints were dealt a bit of a curveball with quarterback Derek Carr announcing his retirement from the NFL on Saturday morning. Carr and the Saints admitted that his shoulder injury was a major motivator in the decision to hang it up after 11 years in the pros.
Head coach Kellen Moore said that while Carr's communication was strong throughout the process, the discussion around retirement was still a recent development. So New Orleans is having to rethink its strategy, both short- and long-term, especially at the all-important quarterback decision.
Instead of having a clear veteran QB1 when healthy, they now have three young quarterbacks—Tyler Shough, Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener—with just seven starts between them (plus a tight end in Taysom Hill who has served as a starting quarterback over the years with suboptimal results).
So, who will start? Moore's answer was obvious at this stage in the offseason: The three youngsters will compete for the role.
Kellen Moore said that Shough, Rattler and Haener will compete for the starting job
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) May 10, 2025
This shouldn't be a huge shock to hear. Even before the draft, there was a hint that Carr might miss all of 2025 with the shoulder injury that has now prompted his retirement. If that were the case, a training camp battle among the remaining three quarterbacks would have likely been the outcome.
The only thing that may mix this up is if the Saints opt to look into the free agency or trade market for a veteran quarterback. So far, there has not been much noise on that front (beyond the usual jokes and unfounded fan speculation), and the Saints seem outwardly content with one of their three youngsters winning the keys to the car.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kellen Moore Details Plan for Saints Starting QB Role After Derek Carr Retirement.
