The New Orleans Saints may have missed the playoffs for the fifth straight season, finishing 6-11 in 2025, but for the first time in a while, there’s a real sense of direction in the Big Easy. That starts with two names: head coach Kellen Moore and rookie quarterback Tyler Shough.
After a rough 1-7 start to the season with Spencer Rattler under center, the Saints handed the reins to Shough in Week 9-and the rookie responded. He went 5-4 as the starter, including a four-game win streak that marked the franchise’s longest since Drew Brees’ final season in 2020. That stretch didn’t just inject life into a team that desperately needed it-it reshaped the Saints’ entire outlook heading into 2026.
What stood out wasn’t just the wins, but the way Shough earned them. The 26-year-old second-round pick showed toughness, poise, and a competitive fire that resonated with the locker room-especially with veteran defensive lineman Cameron Jordan, who doesn’t hand out praise lightly.
“What he’s doing is, ‘Hey, I’m gonna fight each and every play,’” Jordan said. “I think that boy said something like, ‘I’m gonna die for y’all.’
And then we saw him take a couple hits and get up like, ‘Nah.’ So he took off his shirt-rib cage to hip, black and blue.
And he’s over here cracking jokes… That’s that s**t [when] you like, ‘Oh that boy right.’”
That kind of grit doesn’t go unnoticed, especially to a player like Jordan, who’s seen plenty of quarterbacks come and go in his time with the Saints. For him, Shough’s no longer just a rookie-he’s QB1.
“Bro, you see it, and you respect it. You’re not even looking at him as a rookie no more,” Jordan said.
“You’re like, all right. If he’s QB1, he’s QB1.”
Shough’s late-season surge didn’t just earn him the respect of the locker room-it shifted the team’s priorities heading into the offseason. With the quarterback box now checked, the Saints can focus their draft capital and free agency efforts on building around him. That means more weapons for Moore’s offense, more protection up front, and a system tailored to Shough’s strengths.
And according to Jordan, those strengths are already showing up in big moments.
“[Shough has a] super competitive demeanor… And he [developed] at an extremely high pace,” Jordan said. “So when Tyler took over, he had been fighting for everything.
That’s sort of what he brings to the table. Case in point, this last game, he eludes a sack, steps through the pocket, knowing he’s about to get popped.
Throws one across his shoulder to Kevin Austin in the end zone. I said, ‘Boy, if that boy ain’t cookin’, I don’t know what cookin’ is.’”
It’s moments like that-when a young quarterback stands in the pocket, takes the hit, and delivers a strike-that tell you he’s got more than just talent. He’s got the mentality. The Saints didn’t just find a guy who can make the throws-they may have found a leader they can build around.
There’s still work to be done in New Orleans. A 6-11 record doesn’t magically disappear because of a promising nine-game stretch.
But for the first time in a long time, the Saints have a foundation. Kellen Moore has his quarterback.
The locker room has a leader. And the fans?
They’ve got a reason to believe again.