Brandin Cooks sends message to Saints doubters after retirement of Derek Carr

As of the morning of Memorial Day, DraftKings Sportsbook had a New Orleans Saints side that lost starting quarterback Derek Carr to retirement earlier this spring as a +155 betting underdog to tally over 6.5 wins during the 2025 season. 

Wide receiver Brandin Cooks signed with the Saints before Carr stepped away, and Cooks sent quite a message to those who believe that the club is bound to endure a losing campaign regardless of who replaces Carr in the lineup for Week 1.

"At the end of the day, we all start 0-0. It doesn't matter what you did last year," Cooks recently said while speaking with reporters, as shared by Christian Gonzales of the NFL's website. "It don't matter what you did the previous year. It's a new slate for us and you can call it underdog or whatever the case may be, but we are putting in our work. We will let our actions do the talk come Sundays during the season."

It was reported before the draft that Carr could miss at least a portion of the upcoming season due to a shoulder injury. New Orleans seemingly responded to that development by making Louisville's Tyler Shough, possibly the most pro-ready quarterback in this year's class, the draft's 40th overall pick. 

On May 21, Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk noted that multiple sports books have listed Shough as the betting favorite to emerge as New Orleans' opening day starter over 2024 fifth-round draft choice Spencer Rattler and 2023 fourth-rounder Jake Haener. 

Haener has made just one regular-season start during his pro career and is dealing with a strained oblique that likely will sideline him through the rest of springtime workouts. Meanwhile, Rattler lost all six games he started as a rookie. 

"They're playing with a lot of confidence, both of those guys," Cooks said about Shough and Rattler. "And you can see the competition going on. They can definitely sling it. So, I look forward to continuing to see that grow."

Some are convinced that first-year New Orleans head coach Kellen Moore could want to trade for Kenny Pickett of the Cleveland Browns at some point before training camp in July. Moore was Pickett's offensive coordinator when the 2022 first-round draft pick was a backup with the Philadelphia Eagles this past season, but the Browns seemingly are serious about giving Pickett a real chance to be their Week 1 QB1.

Thus, Moore may have to turn to Shough or Rattler unless a different veteran becomes available for the Saints during the preseason.