Rookie Tyler Shough makes promise to Saints after Derek Carr retirement

The surprising retirement of New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr this past spring resulted in rookie Tyler Shough being penciled in atop the depth chart as the club's new starter heading into training camp. 

During a recent appearance on the "St. Brown Podcast," Shough offered somewhat of a promise to the Saints regarding what could occur if he's named the club's Week 1 QB1 later this summer. 

"...You're not going to faze me if we start off 0-2 or I [expletive] suck," Shough confidently said, as shared by Grant Gordon of the NFL's website. "It's going to be fine. That's what I was excited about, that opportunity, or any opportunity, and I think, going into it, I've got to continue to get to know the guys. Like I said earlier, I'm still a rookie. I may be older, but I have to earn the respect of everybody and do my job."

Shough turns 26 years old in September. 

It was reported before the Saints selected Shough in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft that Carr could miss some or all of the upcoming campaign due to a significant shoulder injury. Thus, Shough likely understood the nature of his situation before Carr officially called time on his playing career. 

Shough will report for training camp on July 22 in the middle of a competition for the starting job that also features 2024 fifth-round draft pick Spencer Rattler and 2023 fourth-rounder Jake Haener. As of Thursday morning, FanDuel Sportsbook had Shough as a -310 betting favorite to win the gig. Rattler was second on the list at +210 odds. 

Shough dealt with significant injuries each college season from 2021 through 2023 (broken collarbone twice, broken fibula in 2023). He suggested during the podcast that such setbacks will have him prepared to lead the Saints onto the field for their regular-season opener versus the Arizona Cardinals on Sept. 7 if he gets the nod. 

"If you would have told me as a 20-year-old, 'You're going to get drafted, but you are going to have to wait four or five years and you're going to break your bones three times and think about not playing football again and you're going to be depressed and you're gonna have all these emotions, but if you just stay at it,' then I would have done it and I did," Shough added. "At that time, you're wondering why is this happening and what's going on, and a lot of unknowns. That's literally the NFL. That's the game of football."

Barring an unexpected development, Shough should take the first meaningful in-game snap of his pro career on the first Sunday of September.