Picture this: a quarterback room wide open, the air in Metairie thick with Louisiana humidity and possibility. It’s the kind of training camp uncertainty the New Orleans Saints haven’t truly faced since the days when Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston were duking it out in 2021. Fast forward to 2025, and the vibe is eerily familiar. Yet it is charged with fresh energy under new head coach Kellen Moore.

“Spencer obviously took… all the ones today. Tyler will take them tomorrow. And we’ll continue to rotate all these guys,” Moore declared after Day 1. He thereby set the stage for a summer-long audition where every rep is a referendum. The early days of camp have been a microcosm of that competition. That includes flashes of brilliance mixed with rookie growing pains. Spencer Rattler, getting the first crack with the ones, showed glimpses of why he was a coveted prospect. However, he also served up the camp’s first interception.

QB carousel heats up as Shough’s mobility and Hill’s rehab shift the Saints’ script

Rookie Tyler Shough, taking the reins with the first team on Day 2, navigated a defense-heavy practice. He ultimately connected with Rashid Shaheed for a red-zone score that hinted at his potential. Jake Haener, the self-proclaimed underdog, stepped in for Day 3. He admitted, “When you’re the underdog and your back is kind of up against the wall, that’s when I play my best.” His words hung in the air, a challenge thrown down to his competitors.

Then came Sunday, July 27. The heat cranked up, forcing the final 7-on-7 session indoors. Rattler again took first-team reps. He indeed showcased his dual-threat ability with a touchdown run and a scoring strike to Juwan Johnson. Moreover, gifting rookie linebacker Danny Stutsman a goal-line pick.

Shough, working later, turned heads not with his arm. However, his legs looked every bit the tough, mobile with QB Drew Brees compared to a certain versatile veteran. Haener, ever persistent, fired a touchdown to Bub Means in the red zone. However, he got intercepted by new safety Julian Blackmon later.

It was a day confirming Moore’s stance. “Obviously the sooner you make a decision, the sooner you can focus in on certain personnel groups and consistencies. But we’ll let the process take as long as it needs to.” However, amidst the QB carousel, a significant development unfolded off to the side. It was the one that subtly reshapes the entire offensive landscape and perhaps accelerates Shough’s path.

Taysom Hill worked off to the side for the first time since injuring his knee last December. Whereas, Foster Moreau (knee) watched practice. Hill’s presence, even in a limited capacity, is monumental. His absence since tearing his ACL in Week 13 last year left a Galactus-sized void in the Saints’ offensive playbook. That indeed forced Moore to reconfigure entire game plans.

Hill isn’t just a player; he’s multiple players rolled into one – a rushing threat (2,437 yds, 33 TDs career), a receiving target (943 yds, 11 TDs), an emergency QB (7-2 as starter), and a special teams demon. His potential return, even later in the season, is a looming game-changer, but his ongoing rehab forces Moore to build an initial offense without its most dynamic chess piece.

Shough’s Path & Moore’s Pivot

Similarly, Foster Moreau watches from the sidelines, a reminder of reliable production held back. The embodiment of resilience after his triumphant return from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Moreau served as Derek Carr’s trusted safety net last season (32 rec, 413 yds, 5 TDs). His dependable hands and red-zone prowess (16-18 career TDs) are precisely what a young QB like Shough needs to build confidence and rhythm.

Since Moreau is on PUP and Hill is only just beginning his on-field rehab, Moore has scrapped his initial offensive vision, which likely brimmed with multi-TE sets and Hill-centric trickery. The coach has to adapt, and he is leaning harder on traditional quarterback play from his young contenders, hoping Juwan can take on the early tight end load.

This is the crucible where Tyler Shough finds himself. The second-round pick out of Louisville, lauded for his toughness and resilience mirroring Hill’s own journey (overcoming multiple season-ending injuries in college), now operates in an offense stripped of its most unique weapon and one of its steadiest veterans.

Foster himself set the tone for the QB battle. He emphasized it’s a “full-blown 33-33-33 percent competition between those three guys: Shough, Rattler, and Haener… nobody’s being given the keys.” Shough’s early camp showing – mixing poise, mobility, and the inevitable rookie mistakes – suggests he’s absorbing that challenge. His ability to make plays with his legs offers a different dimension Moore can utilize now. While the traditional passing game finds its footing without Moreau.

Moore arrived in New Orleans heralded as an offensive innovator. Yet, he has already called a significant audible before taking a single preseason snap. The absence of Hill and Moreau isn’t just about missing two good players; it’s about losing schematic flexibility and veteran security blankets during a critical QB evaluation period.

Moore has redrawn his initial plans of envisioning Hill’s chaos and Moreau’s reliability as foundational elements. The path for Shough, however, just got a little clearer, and the urgency to seize the moment, amidst this forced recalibration, has never been higher. The chess pieces are moving in Metairie, and the young quarterback is stepping onto a board reshaped by necessity. The next moves will define not just the starter, but the early identity of the Moore era.