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New Orleans Saints to start rookie QB Tyler Shough on Sunday

Danby: Daniel Hager7 hours agoDanielHagerOn3
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Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Following their 1-7 start to the season, the New Orleans Saints have officially benched quarterback Spencer Rattler in favor of rookie quarterback Tyler Shough.

Shough, who was selected with the No. 40 pick in the Second Round of the 2025 NFL Draft by New Orleans, saw his first real game action last week against Tampa Bay. In a 23-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Shough completed 17/30 passes for 128 yards. He also threw an interception.

Rattler started the first eight games of this season and put up 1,450 yards passing and eight touchdowns to four interceptions. He also had 155 yards rushing, but the Saints were a mere 1-6 on the season. Looking for any sort of spark, the team will now move to Shough as it looks to finish the season on any sort of a positive note.

Shough played seven seasons of college football with stops at Oregon, Texas Tech and Louisville. He played his final season with the Cardinals in 2024, throwing for 3,195 yards and 23 touchdowns to six interceptions. 

The two quarterbacks were in a battle for the starting job all preseason before Rattler finally won out. But given the results, it’s more than time to let the rookie show what he can do. Over the past two seasons, the Saints went 1-14 in games that he played in. Their lone win came against Jaxson Dart and the New York Giants a month ago.

“It’s big, you know. You got to weather the storm. You know, just keep going, keep having the same process. The outcome will take care of itself,” said Rattler following his lone NFL win. “You know, the past is the past. Now we’re just looking toward the future. Keep stacking wins, keep some momentum going, and try to get Ws every week.”

This preseason, Shough finished 36-of-54 passing for 333 yards and one touchdown with one interception. He also had 23 yards rushing and another touchdown on the ground. He’ll make his first career NFL start on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.