Saints releasing veteran QB after Tyler Shough selection

The New Orleans Saints entered the 2025 NFL Draft with questions about Derek Carr's health. As a result, the Saints selected Louisville QB Tyler Shough in the second round at No. 40 overall, even ahead of Alabama's Jalen Milroe and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders in a bit of a surprise. The Saints QB room then consisted of Carr, Shough, Jake Haener, Spencer Rattler and veteran Ben DiNucci, so it seemed to be a matter of time before somebody was let go.

Well, that happened on Tuesday as DiNucci was released, as he revealed on his X page.

“The NFL is a tough business. Always has been and always will be. Got released by the Saints this morning. Control what I can control and go back to work.”

DiNucci has been around quite a bit since coming into the league. He was originally a seventh-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2020 NFL Draft after playing college football at Pittsburgh and James Madison.

DiNucci then spent time with each of the Cowboys, Denver Broncos, and Buffalo Bills before coming to New Orleans and being mainly on the practice squad.

DiNucci was even with the Seattle Sea Dragons, an XFL team, so he has been back and forth a lot in an up-and-down career.

The veteran was essentially a practice squad player for the Saints, but the addition of Shough and young quarterbacks, including Haener and Rattle,r made it tough to justify keeping him on their roster.

DiNucci was signed by the Saints toward the end of the 2024 season, so he didn't end up sticking around very long. He most notably played in three games in 2020 for the Cowboys, including one start, although he didn't throw for a touchdown during that season with Dallas.

Now he hits free agency again in hopes of a team that is interested in a veteran backup.