Tyler Shough Caps Whirlwind Season as Fan-Voted Rookie of the Year

The fans have spoken and the New Orleans Saints had the top rookie.

Jan 4, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) celebrates after a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons in the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The National Football League's top honors for the 2025 season will be handed out on Thursday night, but New Orleans Saints fans got a bit of excitement beforehand.

NFL Honors will take place on Thursday night with the NFL and The Associated Press announcing the typical big awards you hear about each season. There is a chance that some hardware could be coming back to New Orleans as well. Saints quarterback Tyler Shough is a finalist for the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. The AP awards are voted on by a panel of 50 nationwide media members.

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Shough has a real shot at the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, but even if he doesn't win, he is going home with some hardware, despite only making nine starts in 2025. There are more awards than the AP ones, including the Pepsi Zero Sugar NFL Rookie of the Year, which is voted on by fans. On Thursday, it was announced that Shough has been named the winner.

The Saints rookie is taking home some hardware

Jan 4, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) in action against the Atlanta Falcons in the third quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

"New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough has been selected as the Pepsi Zero Sugar NFL Rookie of the Year, the league announced today," the Saints announced.

New Orleans also shared a message from Shough on the award for the fans.

"I am truly humbled and honored to be chosen for this award," Shough said, as shared by the team. "Coming in as a rookie, my goal was to do anything I could to contribute to our team's success. Whatever I was asked to do, I just wanted to help the team. This wouldn't be possible without all of my teammates and coaches giving everything they had each and every week to help us win. The award is truly a reflection of all of their hard work. I also want to say thank you to our amazing fans. Your unbelievable passion for the Saints and the city of New Orleans inspires all of us! I can't wait to see where we go from here!"

Shough was one of six finalists for the award, along with Jaxson Dart of the New York Giants, Ashton Jeanty of the Las Vegas Raiders, TreVeyon Henderson of the New England Patriots, Tetairoa McMillan of the Carolina Panthers, and Carson Schwesinger.

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