Saints coach Kellen Moore says his team will have an open competition to determine its starting quarterback. But the betting odds suggest that rookie Tyler Shough enters that competition as a heavy favorite.
Shough is the favorite at multiple sports books taking bets on the quarterback who will take the first snap of the season in Week One. Shough’s odds are at about -300 at various sports books. Spencer Rattler is considered Shough’s closest competition with odds around +200, and Jake Haener is an extreme long shot at +3000.
Derek Carr’s retirement left the Saints with the NFL’s most inexperienced quarterback room,, but the 25-year-old Shough probably enters the league more prepared to start than most rookies. He had a long college career with three years at Oregon, three years at Texas Tech and one year at Louisville, and when the Saints drafted him they knew Carr’s shoulder injury was serious enough that they might need Shough to play immediately.
Rattler was a 2024 fifth-round draft pick who started six games as a rookie last year when Carr was injured. Haener was a 2023 fourth-round pick who started one game with Carr out last year. The Saints went 0-7 in games started by Rattler and Haener.
Shough will have to prove himself in offseason work, training camp and the preseason, but if he looks like he’s making progress, Moore is likely to let the rookie take his lumps and see if Shough has what it takes to develop into a franchise quarterback the Saints can build around.
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