The New Orleans Saints officially have to consider what their quarterback future might look like with someone other than Tyler Shough at the QB position.
They won’t give up on Shough yet, but it’s something they will have to consider. A 1-4 start to the 2026 NFL season isn’t what the Saints drew up.
It looked promising after two weeks, too.
The Saints nearly beat the Detroit Lions in overtime in Week 1. If they had connected on a two-point conversion in OT, they would’ve won.
After that, Shough led the Saints to a 24-17 win over the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson, an upset that showed how good Shough and his teammates might be.
The Saints have now rattled off three losses in a row, though, and while Shough has made some plays, he’s also had some serious struggles.
Shough has already gotten beat up back there, dinging up both his hands in the last couple weeks. It just hasn’t been good enough for Shough.
The Saints took over with a little more than three minutes to play on Sunday, and Shough tried a deep ball, and it was well off target for an interception.
That sealed a 1-4 start for the Saints.
Tyler Shough Struggles
Shough threw two interceptions on Sunday, but maybe even more concerning is that his passes weren’t going anywhere.
Of his first 25 pass attempts against the Vikings, Shough completed 16 of them — but they went for just 96 yards.
That’s 3.8 yards per attempt, a brutal rate.
Shough also didn’t run once up to that point, which is odd considering his overall athleticism and ability to make plays. But playing while dinged up — he had a brace on his fingers on his left hand on Sunday — definitely didn’t help matters.
2027 NFL Draft QB Class
There are question marks about most of the 2027 NFL Draft quarterback class, but there’s also some intriguing upside to many of them.
Arch Manning, who is at Texas, has been viewed as a top prospect.
The likes of Trinidad Chambliss of Ole Miss, Dante Moore of Oregon and Darian Mensah of Miami could also factor in near the top of the draft board.
Shough is old for a second-year player, and the Saints may have to decide sooner rather than later what they want to do with him.
It doesn’t really mean anything has to change for the rest of the 2026 season. The Saints can keep relying on Shough to see if he turns it around.
But beyond this season, Shough’s status is starting to waver a bit. He hasn’t yet proven to be the true answer in the Big Easy.
Tyler Shough’s Future as Saints QB Now Points Toward 2027 NFL Draft Pick