In the wake of Derek Carr's retirement, the New Orleans Saints quarterback room is uber-young.
Second-round rookie Tyler Shough, 25, could walk right into the starting gig. The youngest, Spencer Rattler, 24, has the most NFL experience, with six starts last season. And the oldest at 26, 2023 fourth-rounder Jake Haener, has made one career start.
For now, new head coach Kellen Moore isn't worried about the youth in the QB room, believing he and the rest of the staff can make up the difference.
"Certainly there's times where if the opportunity presents itself, you feel like it's a really good fit, we'd love to do it," Moore said on Monday when asked about adding a veteran. "We feel like we have some good guys here that can certainly mentor each other at the same time going through this process. I feel like our quarterback room has some experience there in the sense that myself, (offensive coordinator) Doug Nussemeier, (QB coach) Scott Tolzein, we've all been around this for a while from a player's and a coach's perspective. … We do feel like we've got a good room there, but obviously we're always looking to upgrade our roster as we go. So it may happen."
At this stage, it makes sense for the Saints to let their young QBs get as many reps as possible during spring workouts. Why muddle up the reps unless you bring a vet in to leapfrog all three?
"We'll see how this whole thing progresses. The roster is a moving, dynamic thing throughout the offseason process," Moore said. "Right now, we feel great, we feel like we've got some young guys, we're excited to just get them on the field and participate. … We'll give those guys a bunch of opportunities. It'll be exciting to see them get out there, learn, grow, make good plays, miss a few, and that's what this whole process is about."
General manager Mickey Loomis spoke for the first time since Carr abruptly announced his retirement and concurred with Moore that the coaching staff could fill in the gaps for the greenhorn QBs.
"Well, they're young. It's a young group, enthusiastic," Loomis said on Monday. "There's talent there. I think we've got a great coaching staff … I'm anxious and enthusiastic about seeing how it unfolds."
Further down the line, it's possible the Saints could add a veteran to the mix who could be an elder ear.
Loomis was asked if, after organized team activities, it was possible to make a "smarter decision" about potentially adding another quarterback.
"I don't know what that means. I think I always make smart decisions. They don't always work out, but," he said, laughing. "I really can't answer that other than to say we're always, at every position, looking to see if there's a way we can improve. So I don't look at that any differently than I'd look at our linebacker room or our DB room or any position. If there's an opportunity for us to improve, then we're gonna look to take it."
For now, the Saints will head into OTAs, which begin Tuesday, with a QB room with a combined seven NFL starts and zero NFL wins.
