New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback Tyler Shough even-keeled in wake of Derek Carr retirement

There were reverberations around the NFL following Derek Carr’s retirement announcement Saturday morning.

Tyler Shough showed no sign of aftershocks.

Carr, the Saints’ starting quarterback in 2023-24, retired hours before Shough and the team’s draft picks, undrafted free agents, tryout players and a handful of veterans took the field in the third and final day of rookie minicamp practice at New Orleans’ indoor practice facility.

Now Shough, the Saints’ second-round pick (No. 40 overall) and the franchise’s highest-drafted quarterback since Archie Manning was taken No. 2 overall in 1971, officially will be competing for the starting position with Spencer Rattler, who’s entering his second year, and Jake Haener, who will be in his third.

And for Shough, the first steps to readying for the competition came during rookie minicamp.

“I think for me it’s just going through the same process for minicamp, trying to learn the playbook and get to know my teammates as much as I can and do everything I can to continue to get better,” he said.

“(Coach) Kellen (Moore) told me this morning (about Carr’s retirement) and that was the extent of it, and we went out to practice and had a lot of fun.”

Shough entered college in 2018, exited as the third quarterback selected in the 2025 draft and now has one less player to outperform in order to become the second rookie to start for the Saints in the last two seasons (Rattler started six games in ’24).

“That’s all you can ask for is an opportunity, at any position,” he said. “And I’m going to treat it the same way, as if whoever is on the roster, I’ve got to continue to grow and get better and do my best to elevate the QB room and the team.

“For me, I was going to come in regardless of him being here or not and try and continue to grow. I think he’s been such a high-level player for so long, I think it would be a great opportunity to learn from him. It’s also a great opportunity to grow myself and be on this team with a lot of great coaches and guys on the team that we have already. I’m just excited for what’s forward and the rest of our offseason.”