Saints Stick with Tyler Shough as Starting Quarterback

The New Orleans Saints are making strategic decisions as they finalize their team roster to 53 players before Sunday’s deadline. The team is not planning any major changes at the quarterback position.

Second-year quarterback Tyler Shough is confirmed as the starter. Spencer Rattler and Zach Wilson will back him up. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Saints intend to keep Rattler on their initial 53-man roster despite receiving trade inquiries about him. Rattler remains positioned as the QB2, supporting Shough.

The Saints received trade interest in QB Spencer Rattler but plan to keep him, per sources. Rattler will serve as quality depth behind Tyler Shough, barring a change.

Rattler, a 25-year-old quarterback, joined the Saints in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Over his first two seasons, Rattler appeared in 16 games and started 14 of them, achieving 2,903 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.

Rattler is well-regarded by his teammates. In January, wide receiver Chris Olave expressed strong support for him, arguing that Rattler deserves to be a starting quarterback once more. Olave shared his views with reporters, stating, “Spencer’s a great quarterback — I don’t believe he’s a backup quarterback in this league… Spencer’s done a great job when he was back there starting at quarterback. He deserves another opportunity to be able to be a starting quarterback in this league.”

As the situation stands, barring any unexpected decisions from the Saints, Rattler may not have the opportunity to start for another team this season. He was the nominated starter for the 2025 season until October 28, when Shough took over. Last season, Shough recorded a 5-4 record as a starter, completing 67.6 percent of his passes for 2,384 yards, alongside 10 touchdowns and six interceptions.