![[object Object] Logo](https://sportshub.cbsistatic.com/i/2020/04/22/e9ceb731-8b3f-4c60-98fe-090ab66a2997/screen-shot-2020-04-22-at-11-04-56-am.png)
Though the New Orleans Saints currently boast the NFL's most inexperienced quarterback room in the wake of Derek Carr's retirement, it seems like first-year coach Kellen Moore isn't interested in adding a veteran at this point in the offseason. With organized team activities right around the corner, the Saints are rolling with three quarterbacks that boast a combined three seasons of experience.
Moore didn't entirely dispel the notion of signing a more seasoned arm, though.
"Certainly there's times where if the opportunity presents itself, you feel like it's a really good fit, we'd love to do it," Moore said during his Monday media availability. "We feel like we have some good guys here that can certainly mentor each other at the same time going through this process. I feel like our quarterback room has some experience there in the sense that myself, [offensive coordinator] Doug Nussmeier, [quarterbacks coach] Scott Tolzien, we've all been around this for a while from a player's and a coach's perspective.
"We do feel like we've got a good room there, but obviously we're always looking to upgrade our roster as we go. So it may happen."
There's a chance that 25-year-old rookie Tyler Shough wins the job outright. The Saints spent meaningful draft capital -- specifically, the 40th overall pick -- to bring him onto the roster, and he was the first quarterback specifically targeted by Moore and his staff.
With Carr out of the picture, he'll have to beat second-year pro Spencer Rattler, who started six games as a rookie in 2024, and former Fresno State standout Jake Haener, a fourth-round pick in the 2023 Draft that has played in eight games in his two years with the franchise. New Orleans also signed Hunter Dekkers as an undrafted free agent. Dekkers played at Iowa State from 2020-22, missed the 2023 season after accusations of sports gambling surfaced and spent 2024 at Iowa Western Community College.
If Shough were to win the job, he would be older than 12 other projected starting quarterbacks as a rookie. He initially signed with Oregon in 2018 and served as a backup for current Los Angeles Chargers star Justin Herbert. He earned the starting job in 2020 when Herbert was drafted and transferred to Texas Tech in 2021, where injuries limited his ability to stay on the field through the 2023 season.
Shough found the requisite eligibility to transfer to Louisville in 2024 and threw for a career-high 3,195 yards and 23 touchdowns in 12 games as a starter. His strong season put him on NFL radars and culminated in him being the third quarterback selected in the 2025 Draft behind No. 1 pick Cam Ward and Jaxson Dart, who the New York Giants traded up to select at No. 25.
Moore spent six years as a backup quarterback in the NFL before becoming a coach. Before earning his first head-coaching gig in New Orleans, he served as the offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles last season, helping the team win Super Bowl LIX. The Saints, meanwhile, are coming off a 5-12 campaign -- their worst since going 3-13 back in 2005.
