Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
By Ross Jackson
The New Orleans Saints are in no hurry to announce a starting quarterback. It makes sense. There’s not much of an advantage to making the decision until the team is actually in the field and practicing, which won’t happen again until Wednesday and Thursday of this week.
Head coach Kellen Moore understands the questions, however.
“It’s part of the job, I understand that aspect of this game,” Moore said when asked if the quarterback inquiries wear on him. “It’s a big decision for us. It’s one position. We think we’ve got a really good group. We got a young group. So, it’s been a unique process. You gotta let these guys play this whole training camp out, which I think has been a great exercise for all these guys. And we see great futures for all of them.”
While the Saints still haven’t announced a decision, the NFL world continues to await. New Orleans is the final team without an announced or multi-year starter. That’s led many to speculate and debate on who the passer should be to take the first start of the regular season.
ESPN’s Mike Tannenbaum didn’t hold back that he believes rookie Tyler Shough to be the highest-potential player in his battle with second-year passer Spencer Rattler.
“(Shough) has way more upside than Spencer Rattler,” he said on ESPN’s Get Up. “This is somebody that started way back at Oregon, he’s a little bit older. But this is a sneaky good offense with Rashid Shaheed, Chris Olave, and Alvin Kamara. Put Tyler Shough in, much higher ceiling. This offense will surprise people during the season.”
The Saints clearly think highly of Shough as well. The team selected him higher than any other quarterback they have drafted since 1971, the 1980s if including the supplemental draft.
If Shough were to start, he would become only the eighth second-round rookie passer to start a Week One game since 2017. The last was DeShone Kizer for the Cleveland Browns.
While fans know who they want and now who Tannenbaum believes should be the starter, the wait continues for Moore and the Saints to make their announcement.
