With Week 1 of the NFL season roughly a month away, the New Orleans Saints might receive calls about a potential quarterback trade.
The Saints had a nice surge towards the second half of the 2025 season due to the emergence of Tyler Shough. The talented quarterback from Louisville went 5-4 in his nine starts, completing 67.6% of his passes for 2,384 yards with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions. Although he didn't start the full season, he was still named the Pepsi Zero Sugar NFL Rookie of the Year.
“I am truly humbled and honored to be chosen for this award,” said Shough. “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!”
With Shough set to be the starter in New Orleans, it's possible teams will express interest in backup quarterback Spencer Rattler.
According to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football, Rattler has "leveled up" his game this offseason. Maybe, just maybe, that'll lead to a team reaching out about a trade.
"Rattler has leveled up," Underhill said. "Some team should call about him."
Rattler could be worth a flier.
Before the Saints handed the starting job to Shough last season, Rattler completed 68% of his passes for 1,586 yards with eight touchdowns and five interceptions. He wasn't bad by any means, he just didn't raise the Saints' ceiling.
Teams such as the Indianapolis Colts and Minnesota Vikings could seriously benefit from taking a chance on Rattler. At the very least, he'd give them a capable backup for the 2026 season.
On the other hand, an argument can be made that New Orleans should keep Rattler because Shough has a concerning history of injuries.
