CARSON, Calif. -- When the New Orleans Saints walked off the field following their final practice in California on Thursday, they didn't appear any closer to answering the key question poised at the beginning of training camp in July.
Who is the starting quarterback this season?
New Orleans entered camp trying to answer that question after selecting rookie Tyler Shough with the 40th pick in April's draft. Saints coach Kellen Moore will soon need to choose between Shough and second-year player Spencer Rattler. But with the regular-season opener against the Arizona Cardinals looming on Sept. 7, the Saints don't appear to have made that decision yet.
Moore recently said in interviews that the Saints are "close" to deciding on a quarterback, but has not hinted as to which way the team is leaning.
"Obviously before Week 1. ... As soon as we get to that point, we'll pull it off, whatever day it is," Moore said following the joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday. "But we want to give these guys as many opportunities as they can because they're younger guys. They need experience, they need exposure. There are some things they are doing for the first time and the second time."
The Saints gave opportunities to Shough, Rattler and Jake Haener at the beginning of training camp, but it has been a two-man race ever since the Saints flew to California for a 10-day stint.
Rattler and Shough split the first-team reps in the five practices on the West Coast, and they also got almost every snap in the preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Aug. 10. Haener had only 10 snaps toward the end of the fourth quarter.
Both quarterbacks have presented their cases, but with two preseason games left, including Sunday's matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars (1 p.m. ET, NFL Network), one or the other will need to find a way to maintain a permanent edge.
The case for Shough
When Shough was drafted in April, it came with expectations. Although the Saints didn't take Shough with their first pick, he was still their highest selected quarterback since Archie Manning was drafted No. 2 in 1971.
Shough, who turns 26 on Sept. 28, is exactly one year older than Rattler. He and his camp negotiated a fully guaranteed contract, and because he's a second-round pick, the Saints won't have a fifth-year option to pick up. The Saints would likely want to get him on the field as soon as possible for those factors alone.
None of those things mean Shough will be guaranteed the starting job, but it could tip the scales in his favor if the competition is that close. And in the past two weeks, Shough has closed Rattler's early lead.
The shift took place during a 126-play scrimmage on Aug. 3. Shough wasn't perfect in the marathon practice session. In fact, he made some key mistakes in the red zone, including an almost-pick by rookie Quincy Riley that was ruled out of bounds in the end zone and an interception by linebacker Nephi Sewell while looking for Rashid Shaheed in the end zone.
But that practice was the most comfortable and consistent Shough looked moving the ball -- showing the step forward that the team might have been hoping to see. That was also the practice when it became clear that Haener was fading in the three-man race due to his lack of first-team or second-team reps, a trend that has continued the rest of camp.
Shough's momentum carried into California. In an abbreviated scrimmage prior to the Saints' first preseason game, Shough had one of his best sequences with the second-team offense: a big completion to Dante Pettis, a completion to Mason Tipton that initially looked like a touchdown, and then a decision to keep the ball himself and run in for the score.
In his first preseason game, Shough had an impressive 54-yard touchdown to Tipton one series after throwing a pick-six. He finished 15-of-22 for 165 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the Saints' 27-13 loss.
After the game, Shough said he never lost his confidence even with the mistakes.
"It's part of it, I'm throwing that nine times out of 10," Shough said of the interception. "He made a really good play and jumped [the route]. We knew we were going to get the ball back and just go drive down the field and score. ... Stuff like that happens and it's good to bounce back."
Shough has one more week and two games left to impress, and because of Rattler's early lead, he'll have to bring the momentum from California back home. If he continues on an upward path, his potential alone might be enough to get him the job.
Shough said after the game he felt he has done some of his best work in "unscripted" situations, such as preseason games, two-minute drives and parts of practice.
"I think for me that's the goal, to continue stacking days and get better every single day. Obviously you want to be perfect every single rep and you've got to learn from it when you're not," Shough said. "The biggest thing for me is I kind of feel myself kind of gaining a little bit of momentum."
The case for Rattler
Rattler got the starting nod on Day 1 of training camp because of his seniority, completing all nine of his passing attempts that day. It was a continuation of the consistency he had shown in OTAs and minicamp, although Moore said he felt the quarterbacks came into camp on an even playing field.
"We have a bunch of statistics and stuff based off OTAs," Moore said. "It's literally the same exact numbers in every category. They're very consistent throughout the whole process, Spencer has obviously been here one more year. We'll start with him and go from there. I wouldn't worry too much about that."
In that first week, Rattler, and at times Haener, looked to be more comfortable and consistent in practice while Shough's inexperience showed. That wasn't necessarily a surprise -- Rattler started six games in 2024, Haener started one and both already had a training camp under their belts.
"I want to put together a string of three good games, preseason this year," Rattler said. "I feel a little more confident, I feel a little more comfortable obviously. I just want to ... play clean, play decisive, play fast, use my legs when needed."
There were also times in that first week that Shough did not get as many snaps as the other two QBs, getting only a limited number of snaps on Day 3 and Day 7 when he was with the third team and no snaps in a Day 6 walk-through.
He also seemed to take fewer early risks than Rattler, who did take more aggressive shots early in camp. Rattler's overall consistency to that point was likely what won him the initial starting nod in the preseason game in L.A. Moore, when asked about his decision, said Rattler earned it.
Rattler finished 7-of-11 for 53 yards and ran for 22 yards, but was sacked three times, including a sack/fumble that led to a Chargers field goal. While he had passes of 21 yards to Cedric Wilson Jr. and 10 yards to Brandin Cooks on the opening drive, the Saints punted from the Chargers' 49-yard line.
"Too much up and down," Rattler said. "... I thought I left some plays out there. As a group we could've been better on third down and we've got to finish in the red zone. Had some good moments, some bad moments, but got to be more consistent."
If the Saints go with Rattler at QB1, it will be because he stacked more consistent days together and showed he brings experience with him.
Rattler had a difficult situation last season while filling in for an injured Derek Carr. He was a rookie and played like it, getting benched for Haener after taking seven sacks in a 26-8 loss to the Chargers last season.
Carr returned for five games but was injured again later that season, and interim coach Darren Rizzi elected to go with Haener instead of Rattler against the Washington Commanders, but quickly reversed course after one half.
Due to Carr's unexpected retirement this offseason, the Saints will be putting a lot on the shoulders of a young quarterback.
What's next
While both quarterbacks have had their streaks of highlight moments, neither one has displayed the long-term consistency that makes Moore's decision easy.
That was evident in California against the Rams when both got turns with the first- and second-team units. Shough hit Tipton on a crossing route and Tipton ran down the sideline untouched for a big touchdown, while Rattler had a deep pass to Shaheed that would have been a touchdown of at least 40 yards.
"When you play in some un-scouted situations, it's great work. You've got to respond, you've got to trust yourself, you've got to react. There's plenty of opportunities to grow ... but they did respond and they kept fighting and making some plays. It'll be great film for our guys to watch," Moore said.
But there were also the mistakes that often show up with greener players. Rattler started his first few series with impressive accuracy, but was sacked or under heavy pressure from the Rams defensive line at least three or four times. His best moment came late on a deep pass to Shaheed for a touchdown.
Shough was sacked at least once, flagged for intentional grounding and had a few stalled drives around the red zone.
Moore declined to name a starter for the second preseason game after practice Thursday, saying the staff would discuss a plan of action in their meetings later that night.
Moore said there will be a balancing act moving forward of looking ahead to the season while still developing the quarterbacks. He said that patience is key to navigate the growing pains of young players learning a new system.
"We've just got to start shifting gears and getting ready for the regular season as soon as we can," Moore said.