The New Orleans Saints have a lot to prove, and here are the two hottest takes coming out of the team's 2025 minicamp.
The New Orleans Saints have an excited player despite trade rumors. Also, the team has a few veterans getting pushed by rookies. And here are the two hottest takes coming out of the Saints' 2025 minicamp.
Whatever the upcoming season holds for the Saints, things will undoubtedly point back to the retirement of quarterback Derek Carr. It will either be seen as a turning point or a spot where the team went in the wrong direction.
Regardless of how it plays out, the Saints have developed quite a competition at the position.
Tyler Shough battling Spencer Rattler Saints’ QB1 spot
Head coach Kellen Moore said he’s not concerned right now about the youth at the quarterback position. He said things can work themselves out, according to foxsports.com.
Moore pointed to his time in Dallas, when Dak Prescott took over as a rookie in 2016.
“It’s all about opportunities,” Moore said. “(Prescott) hopped in there and played great. And certainly, there’s a lot of other quarterbacks through the history of this game who’ve done it in a similar fashion. So, we feel like we’ve got some young guys who are ready to roll.”
Shough said he is focusing on getting better and letting the other things fall into place.
“A lot of things you can’t control,” Shough said. “But you can control your preparation, your attitude, your effort — and that’s one thing I’m going to do.”
And Moore said he likes what he’s seen from Shough this far.
“He’s a really, really prepared quarterback,” Moore said. “He can handle NFL volume. He’s handled the playbook tremendously.”
As for Rattler, he needs to show more than he did in 2024. The Saints finished with a record of 5-12, and Rattler didn’t make great strides. But he does have a year of experience under his belt. And that could help in the battle with Shough.
“It helps a lot just with the speed of everything, understanding what you’re going to see week in and week out,” Rattler said. “You can’t put too much pressure on yourself,” Rattler added. “It’s Year 2 — a great opportunity ahead of me.”
Also trying to get in the mix is Jake Haener, a 2023 fourth-round pick.
Will the Saints add a quarterback?
Questions have arisen about whether the Saints would try to add a veteran to stabilize the young mix. That’s a possibility, according to nfl.com.
“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. “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 Nussemeier, (QB coach) Scott Tolzein, 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.”
Moore said he wants his young quarterbacks to get as many reps as possible. So even if the team adds a veteran, it may come closer to the start of the season.
“We'll see how this whole thing progresses,” Moore said. “The roster is a moving, dynamic thing throughout the offseason process. Right now, we feel great, we feel like we've got some young guys, we're excited to just get them on the field and participate.
“We'll give those guys a bunch of opportunities. It'll be exciting to see them get out there, learn, grow, (and) make good plays.
Saints still leaning on RB Alvin Kamara
He’s a veteran with a lot of miles. But the Saints didn’t pick a running back until the sixth round of this year’s draft.
Moore said he expects the same old Kamara in the 2025 season, according to neworleanssaints.com.
“Alvin's obviously one of the premier players in our league, his ability to run the football and play in the pass game,” Moore said. “And so, we want to utilize every aspect of that.
“He's going to be a really big-time, impactful runner, running the football first and foremost. And then obviously the pass game, his ability to create matchups is going to be a huge advantage for us.”
One of the good things about Kamara is his ability to retain the details of the game. Moore said that elevates Kamara, along with his natural physical ability.
“What's really fun being around Alvin is his mental capacity is really high,” Moore said. “He understands football at a really, really high level. He's played so much game. I really enjoy and I look forward to more and more of those conversations as we go through this, of teaming up on this thing.
“Everyone knows his impact for a number of years now, and so, he'll be a big part of this.”
As for Kamara, he said he likes the new look under Moore. He said the energy is different from any team he’s been a part of in New Orleans.
“Now, a change coming in – it's different,” Kamra said. “I’ve got to kind of train my mind to be like, ‘I can't look at how things used to be done.' I've got to get with this. It's not hard, but two days, it's cool, but we'll see during camp, when camp starts.”
