Saints take Louisville QB Tyler Shough 40th overall as uncertainty over Carr’s future lingers

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — If the Derek Carr era wasn’t already over in New Orleans, it would appear to be headed that way after the Saints snagged Louisville’s Tyler Shough with the highest pick the franchise has used on a quarterback since taking Archie Manning second overall in 1971.

New Orleans took the 6-foot-5, 219-pound Shough with the eighth pick in Friday night’s second round, 40th overall.

“My goal is to come in there and compete and do everything I can to make the team better,” Shough said. “I’m just fired up for the opportunity.”

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The selection comes two days after Saints general manager Mickey Loomis confirmed that Carr has some sort of shoulder ailment about which the club is seeking “clarity.”

If Carr is not with the club by training camp, Shough might wind up competing for a starting job against 2024 fifth-round draft choice Spencer Rattler and 2023 fourth-rounder Jake Haener — both of whom struggled and went winless while Carr was sidelined for seven games last season because of oblique and hand injuries.

Shough was pleased his NFL career would begin under the tutelage of first-year Saints coach Kellen Moore, a former college QB at Boise State and a former offensive coordinator with Dallas, the Los Angeles Chargers and Super Bowl champion Philadelphia last season.

“He’s a guru,” Shough said of Moore’s ability to coach to his quarterbacks’ strengths. Shough also liked the fact that Saints offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier and QB coach Scott Tolzien both have played QB at the NFL level as well.

“So, this is an incredible opportunity to come in and and learn from them,” he said.

The 25-year-old Shough began his college career at Oregon in 2018. He backed up Justin Herbert in 2019 and started all seven games of Oregon’s COVID-19-shortened 2020 season.

He transferred to Texas Tech in 2021, but his three seasons there each were shortened by collar bone, shoulder and leg injuries before he transferred last year to Louisville. Shough started 12 games for the Cardinals and went 8-4 while passing for 3,195 yards and 23 touchdowns.

His long, injury-plagued path to the NFL “strengthened me mentally,” Shough said. “So, I feel so prepared to come into New Orleans and just go there and continue to learn, continue to grow and compete.”

Shough considers himself a “high-level mental processor” who is “able to win pre-snap.”

Some of his development stemmed from participating in the Manning Passing Academy in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Shough said he loves Archie Manning and still hears from him sometimes.

In text messages to The Associated Press on Friday night, Manning called Shough “a great young man and really good player.”

Manning added that a “couple NFL people” he knows thought Shough was “the best of the top four-rated QBs” in this year’s draft. He was the third QB selected behind Miami’s Cam Ward and Mississippi’s Jaxson Dart.

Carr and his representatives have not stated publicly when or how the veteran QB’s shoulder injury occurred, or offered any details on the diagnosis or prognosis. The Saints, likewise, have declined to discuss any of those details.

The issue first arose when NFL.com, citing an anonymous source, reported on April 11 that Carr might need shoulder surgery which could cause him to miss part or all of the upcoming season.

The report did not state which shoulder Carr injured or how he injured it. Carr’s agent, Timothy Younger, did not return multiple messages from the AP about the matter. And until this past Wednesday, the Saints had not addressed it, either.

Car, who is 14-13 in two seasons as a Saints starter, injured the AC joint in his throwing shoulder in 2023, but never missed a game because of it. Carr missed seven games in 2024, but because of oblique and hand injuries.

The Saints’ injury reports last season did not mention any issues with Carr’s shoulder, and when he played, he had multiple downfield completions that went for 50 or more yards.

But as Carr entered the third year of his four-year Saints contract this offseason, doubt surrounded his long-term future with the club because of the club’s coaching change, Carr’s own inconsistent play and apparent fan discontent. Carr is the only QB in NFL history to surpass $200 million in career earnings without winning a playoff game.

The Saints went 5-12 last season, their worst record since 3-13 in 2005. New Orleans went 5-5 when Carr played last season, 0-7 when he didn’t.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl