Louisville passer who seized the Saints starting job midway through 2025 and enters 2026 as the entrenched QB1.
Tyler Shough is the New Orleans Saints' starting quarterback, drafted 40th overall in 2025 out of Louisville. After opening his rookie year as Spencer Rattler's backup, he took over in Week 9 and went 5-4 the rest of the way. The Saints committed to him as their 2026 starter.
Path to the league
Shough took an unconventional, well-traveled college route before finishing at Louisville. The Saints drafted him in the second round (40th overall) in 2025, their highest-drafted quarterback since Archie Manning went No. 2 overall in 1971. He signed a four-year rookie contract in July 2025.
2025 season
Rattler opened the year as the starter, but Shough took over in Week 9 against the Rams after the team fell to 1-7. From that point he completed 221 of 327 passes (67.6 percent) for 2,384 yards and 10 touchdowns with a 91.3 rating, and added 186 rushing yards and three scores. He led all rookie QBs in completion percentage, passer rating, and passing yards per game while going 5-4 as a starter.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Tyler Shough
- ESPN: Tyler Shough player page
Statistics
2025 season and career2025 Season · Passing
11 games played▶Passing · career
| Year | Team | GP | CMP | ATT | YDS | TD | INT | RTG | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | saints | 11 | 221 | 327 | 2,384 | 10 | 6 | 91.3 | 48.8 |
▶Rushing · career
| Year | Team | GP | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | saints | 11 | 45 | 186 | 4.1 | 3 | 34 |
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Quarterback
- Group
- offense
- College
- Louisville
- Hometown
- Chandler, AZ, USA
- Age
- 26
- Status
- active
Latest news about Tyler Shough
All news →Tyler Shough Plans Saints Summer Retreat, Leans on Drew Brees for Advice
The second-year quarterback is funding a teammate workout trip from Oregon to San Diego and tapped a franchise legend to help pull it together.
Worst to first, ranked: the Lions are the clear bet, and it's not close
Eight teams finished last in their division in 2025. Detroit has a 38 percent shot at flipping to first. After that, the odds fall off a cliff.
Saints' 2026 draft class ranked, from immediate starters to long-term projects
New Orleans' first draft under new GM Justin Williams produced a top-10 quarterback, two probable rookie starters, and a third-day class built around special teams.
