Tyler Shough opens up on Derek Carr’s retirement: ‘All you can ask for is an opportunity’

Derek Carr spent much of the 2024 season as the New Orleans Saints’ starting signal-caller, but he recently called it quits on his NFL career. After 11 seasons in the league and two with the Saints, Carr has announced his retirement on Saturday.

Carr spent the lion’s share of his time in the best football league in the world with the Las Vegas Raiders and earned four Pro Bowl nods with the team.

The news regarding Carr might open the door for quarterback Tyler Shough to see significant playing time in his first season with the Saints. He recently spoke about the opportunity that has opened up because of Carr’s retirement.

“That’s all you can ask for is an opportunity, at any position,” he said. “And I’m going to treat it the same way, as if whoever is on the roster, I’ve got to continue to grow and get better and do my best to elevate the QB room and the team.

“For me, I was going to come in regardless of him being here or not and try and continue to grow. I think he’s been such a high-level player for so long, I think it would be a great opportunity to learn from him. It’s also a great opportunity to grow myself and be on this team with a lot of great coaches and guys on the team that we have already. I’m just excited for what’s forward and the rest of our offseason.”

In his final NFL season, Carr threw for 2,145 yards and 15 touchdowns compared to five interceptions. The Saints also had a respectable 5-5 record in the games he started at the all-important quarterback position. They didn’t win a single one of the seven games he didn’t start in.

The Saints used one of their first picks in the 2025 NFL Draft on Shough. After they selected offensive lineman Kelvin Banks with the No. 9 overall pick in the first round, they used their second-round pick on Shough. He was drafted with the No. 40 overall pick.

Shough was drafted near the beginning of the second round after he carved out a lengthy career playing football at the collegiate level. He played seven seasons with three programs — the University of Louisville, University of Oregon and Texas Tech University — and starred as a Cardinal in the 2024 college season.

He played 12 games with Louisville and totaled 3,195 passing yards in that span. He also took great care of the ball, as he finished with 23 passing touchdowns compared to only six interceptions.

It seems Shough may have a real shot to be New Orleans’ starting signal-caller in the 2025 season now that Carr is no longer in the picture, and if he does earn that starter spot, hopefully he will make the most of his opportunities.