Tyler Shough has all the buzz in the New Orleans Saints quarterback room after he was picked No. 40 overall in last week's draft. But will he starting Week 1?
That's going to depend on a few factors, as the Cajun Cannon Bobby Hebert explained this week, and one will be completely outside of the rookie QB's control.
"Even though we drafted Tyler Shough and you look at the quarterback room, Mickey Loomis has said this and I have said this. Now, if Derek Carr is healthy — if, that’s the word: if," Hebert said. "If he’s healthy he’s the starting quarterback this year. Nothing against Tyler Shough and all that."
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Hebert continued: "Now, if [Carr's] not healthy, may the best man win. I think it’s more Tyler Shough or Spencer Rattler and we’ve got to wait and see what would happen."
It's the reality Saints GM Mickey Loomis stated plainly during his post-draft press conference, though the team has otherwise opted not to address the issue beyond confirming Carr is dealing with an injury. The QB has been largely silent this offseason, but addressed multiple topics during a Las Vegas church sermon over the weekend. During the hour-long address to a captive audience, Carr also confirmed he had an injury and had an "MRI to prove it," also calling out several in the media he says have spread "lies" about him.
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Carr also went on to share a personal tragedy that his family worked through in recent months with his wife, Healther, suffering a miscarriage. The timing was significant, Carr said, because it occurred around the time he was scheduled to visit the Saints to address the shoulder issue. It's unclear whether that visit ever occurred, but Carr was not present for the start of the team's optional workout programs in April.
If the injury requires surgery to repair it could threaten the 2025 season for the 34-year-old QB.
“If he can’t play next year he’s gone pecan. The Saints just got to eat that money. No, Derek Carr is 2025. It’s not 2026," Hebert said.
The Cajun Cannon also passed along his best wishes to the Carr family, but added: "Let me tell you, football fans are you brutal. Even though you’re dealing with all that, they want you to compartmentalize that. They think you’re like a robot and that you’re not a human. I’m just telling you how fans think. They don’t look at that, they go, oh, you have that adversity, but they think you’re different, but he has the human emotions and so that’s why ... I’m glad Derek Carr came out with that because we realized what he was dealing with. Derek Carr is a good guy, but you know what Derek Carr has to do in a Saints uniform? You can’t be a .500 quarterback.”