The New Orleans Saints are giving their second-round rookie the keys to the car at quarterback.
Tyler Shough will start for the Saints at quarterback when they take on the Los Angeles Rams in Week 9, with Spencer Rattler going to the bench, the team announced Tuesday.
New Orleans’ change at quarterback comes as it’s in the midst of another losing streak of at least three games this season. In the Saints’ most recent loss, Rattler was benched for Shough in the third quarter as they fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 23-3.
Rattler hasn’t necessarily been the key reason why the Saints are off to a 1-7 start this season, but he hasn’t helped matters, either. The second-year quarterback has completed 68% of his passes for 1,586 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions to go with an 86.8 passer rating.
Rattler, who the Saints took in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, won the Saints’ quarterback competition over Shough in training camp following Derek Carr’s surprise retirement over the offseason. He got a brief taste at starting last year, but lost his first six starts last season and his first four starts this year as he had one of the longest losing streaks for a quarterback to start their career.
Shough, meanwhile, was a standout at Louisville last season after transferring from Texas Tech. He quickly climbed up draft boards ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft before the Saints took him with the 40th overall pick.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
