Tyler Shough reacts to becoming Saints' starting quarterback

The process took a little bit longer than some expected, but New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback Tyler Shough will make his first regular-season start when the 1-7 Saints play at the Los Angeles Rams (5-2) Sunday. 

While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, first-year Saints head coach Kellen Moore insisted he plans to start Shough over Week 1 QB1 Spencer Rattler through the end of the 2025 season. Later in the day, Shough addressed finding himself atop the depth chart ahead of Halloween. 

Tyler Shough knows he'll learn hard lessons as rookie starter

"I’m going to make mistakes," Shough acknowledged, per Brett Martel of The Associated Press. "So, I’m going to do everything I can to learn from those mistakes, and then just have fun doing it. What a great opportunity to go out there and just let it rip."

Moore benched Rattler in favor of Shough during New Orleans' 23-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past Sunday. The 2025 second-round draft pick ultimately completed 17-of-30 passes for 128 yards with no touchdowns and an interception in that relief appearance. 

Meanwhile, Rattler went 1-13 as the Saints' starter over the previous two campaigns before he was relegated to backup duties. 

"He was just complimentary of the work that I've done behind the scenes and I was going to be the starter for this week and obviously continuing, but he just was kind of talking about what we need to do offensively, how we can kind of turn this around a little bit and just looking forward," Shough said about his conversation with Moore, according to Katherine Terrell of ESPN. "So it was a good feeling, but also in the same breath that we had a lot of work to do."

Tyler Shough knows Saints are not in "a fun situation" amid QB change

As of Thursday morning, ESPN BET had the Saints as massive 14.5-point underdogs against the Rams. Shough indicated he realizes he finds himself in his current position mostly because New Orleans was one of the league's most under-performing clubs over the first half of the ongoing season. 

"Obviously, it's not like a fun situation," Shough added. "We're 1-7 right now. ...But obviously I've talked to all the receivers, man, we've been super close throughout this whole time. Actually, finally getting some reps in practice with them has been really, really good. So looking forward to kind of continuing that."

How Shough responds to expected in-game setbacks could determine if he remains in the lineup over Rattler through Week 18.