Saints’ Tyler Shough Gets Honest About Derek Carr’s Retirement

The Saints rookie has a shot at the starting job now...

Dec 8, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr (4) walks off the field after field after an injury during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Saints publicly committed to Derek Carr as the team's starter for the 2025 National Football League season pretty early in the offseason but that isn't going to be the case.

New Orleans restructured his deal and then soon afterward, it was reported that Carr was dealing with a serious shoulder injury. It was reported that the team knew about this and it wasn't some big shock behind the scenes.

Carr's injury raised the question about how long he could potentially be out for but at the end of the day, that doesn't matter. Carr opted to hang up his cleats and retire from the National Football League after 11 seasons and four Pro Bowl nods.

With Carr out the door, that opens up the starting job for either 2025 second round pick Tyler Shough, or returners Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener.

Shough recently joined the "St. Brown Podcast" with Amon-Ra St. Brown and Equanimeous St. Brown and one topic he discussed was finding out about Carr's retirement.

"Kellen told me before he announced it in practice, which was good, just cause I think I had media later that day, so, I didn't want to go in blind," Shough said. "Like you said, the word opportunity just sticks in my head. I think, regardless, I think it would have been great just because of who he is and how high of a level he's played at to come in and learn from, and I'm going to come in and compete, regardless, and try to get better."

The Saints' quarterback competition is in full swing and it's certainly going to be interesting to see if Shough can take the reins now with Carr gone.

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