Saints' Tyler Shough Warns Critics Before Historic Start, 'I'm Going to Make Mistakes'

New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough acknowledged there will be a learning curve as he approaches his first NFL start.

"I'm going to make mistakes," he said, per the Associated Press' Brett Martel. "So, I'm going to do everything I can to learn from those mistakes, and then just have fun doing it. What a great opportunity to go out there and just let it rip."

Saints head coach Kellen Moore turned to the 2025 second-round pick midway through a 23-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the offense failed to find a groove with Spencer Rattler under center. The rookie finished 17-of-30 for 128 yards and an interception.

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Moore indicated the QB change will ideally have some staying power.

"We're not doing this back-and-forth thing. I think certainly that's the goal," he said, per ESPN's Katherine Terrell. "I think just the same way we talked about when Spencer went in there, we weren't going to get into this whole debate each and every week. Tyler's in there, he is ready to go. That's the whole objective and plan of this thing is let Tyler go and have a ton of success and navigate the things he has to navigate."

That will alleviate some of the pressure Shough inevitably feels ahead his starting debut. He knows he can iron out the wrinkles on the field and not worry about one bad pass or an interception sending him back to the bench.

That's basically one silver lining from New Orleans' 1-7 start as well. The season is pretty much lost anyway, so there's no need to play musical chairs at quarterback in the hope of finding a short-term boost.

Shough is already 26, so he's closer to the finished product than fans typically see with first-year players. The second half of the season should provide enough evidence to determine whether he's a worthwhile solution beyond 2025 or if the Saints, who are on their way to a high pick, need to add another quarterback in the 2026 draft.