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Saints' QB plan revealed after Derek Carr's retirement

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated May 10, 2025 2:31 PM ET

A new report shed some light on what the New Orleans Saints might do now that quarterback Derek Carr has announced his retirement.

The Saints are left with a highly inexperienced quarterback room following Carr’s retirement, with rookie Tyler Shough and second-year quarterback Spencer Rattler being the two biggest names on the roster. However, that does not mean the Saints are necessarily going to look to add a high-profile veteran.

Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports said Saturday that he expects the Saints to wait until at least June before they even consider adding a veteran to the mix. In fact, the organizational preference might be to give Shough every chance to win the job.

There's no rush for the Saints to add to their QB room in mid-May. I would expect them to at least get through June minicamp and assess where they're at with the position before truly considering adding a veteran. Shough, though, clearly has the opportunity right in front of him
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) May 10, 2025

While there were plenty of jokes about the Saints launching a pursuit of Aaron Rodgers, that certainly does not sound likely. Even if they did, Rodgers seems unlikely to prefer the Saints to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who profile as move of a contender.

The Saints could also make a move for Atlanta Falcons QB Kirk Cousins, but it is unclear if the Falcons would be willing to let Cousins go to a division rival.

Rattler started six games for New Orleans last season, but the Saints lost all of them. The other quarterback on the roster, Jake Haener, also lost his only start of 2024.

There is no doubt that the Saints have the resources to pursue a quarterback. Whether the right fit is out there might depend on how Shough and Rattler look in initial minicamps. Shough was viewed by some evaluators as the most pro-ready quarterback in the draft, and that might have been part of the Saints’ thinking when they selected him 40th overall.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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