Saints' Tyler Shough Already Better Than Derek Carr In One Way

It'll be hard to avoid comparing Shough and Carr for the foreseeable future

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

New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough is already doing something Derek Carr never did.

It’s important to note that what Shough does on the football field is ultimately what matters regarding his standing with Saints fans, but it certainly doesn’t hurt that Shough has been ingratiating himself with New Orleans culture this offseason.

Shough’s willingness to dive into the New Orleans cultural scene and, in general, be open to fans in a relatable way is something that Carr for some reason never leaned into.

Again, doing so isn’t required, nor was it written into Carr’s contract that he must interact with the New Orleans community.

These guys are paid to win football games at the end of the day. But it’s still interesting to see how Shough has approached his time in New Orleans thus far as he prepares to (quarterback competition pending) succeed Carr as the Saints’ starter.

LouisianaSports.Net’s Ross Jackson recently discussed this situation on a recent episode of the Locked On Saints podcast.

“(We’ve seen Tyler Shough) embracing the city so far,” Jackson said.

“We've seen (Shough) go to dinner at Drago’s. We've heard him shout out other great New Orleans institutions, restaurants, things like that. We have heard him tell the story of popping a tire on a pothole in his truck. We have heard him talk about learning about car tire insurance from those of us in New Orleans Media when we were chatting with him about it. We saw him learning how to shuck oysters over at another New Orleans institution.”

Jackson also referenced a recent interview in which Shough defended New Orleans cuisine while former Saints wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown was criticizing it.

“You're seeing Tyler Shough really buy in all the way down to his defense against former New Orleans Saints practice squad wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown, who has time and time again insulted Louisiana cuisine saying that it's overrated.”

Jackson ultimately feels that Shough is smart to endear himself to the Saints fan base.

“The endearing himself to the fan base box continues to be checked,” Jackson continued. “And whether he got really good advice, whether he is, you know, overplaying it a little bit, whatever it might be, nobody cares. It's just people are just happy to see him doing it because in the two months that he's been a New Orleans Saint, he's done more in this community and seems to have ingratiated himself and endeared himself to this community more than … Derek Carr did in his two years here.”

More NFL: Saints Writer Makes Tyler Shough Prediction Involving Cam Ward