Kellen Moore says Saints’ quarterback competition is three-player race that will take ‘as long as it needs’

Much of the outside focus surrounding the New Orleans Saints’ quarterback competition has been on second-year signal caller Spencer Rattler and rookie Tyler Shough. But first-year coach Kellen Moore has emphasized throughout training camp that the battle is wide open, and former fourth-round pick Jake Haener — the veteran of the group — will get a fair shake. 

In fact, Haener has rotated in with the first-team offense throughout the first few practices. 

“I’m fired up to just let those guys play it out,” Moore said while speaking with reporters after training camp. “We’ll let the process take as long as it needs.”  

Haener played for Moore’s brother, Kirby, at Fresno State before he was selected by the Saints in the 2023 NFL Draft. He didn’t play in any games as a rookie but logged eight appearances last season with one start, though he was benched at halftime in a loss to the Washington Commanders. 

The 6-foot-1 and 200-pound Haener completed 18 of his 39 pass attempts for 226 yards and one touchdowns with one interception in 2024. 

“Jake’s done a tremendous job,” Moore said. “Obviously his preparation is second to none. He puts in a ton of work. He’s got great confidence in himself. He’s got great command as far as leading the group that he’s a part of. So he’s done a really nice job. Obviously people didn’t get to see him as much during the OTA process just because of the injury, but he’s done a really, really good job and he’ll continue to compete just like these other guys.”      

Rattler worked with the first team Wednesday, Shough was first up Thursday and Haener led the group Friday. 

“If they didn’t truly believe that I could be a guy that they think could win the starting job, they wouldn’t include me in it,” Haener said.

Though Haener has more years in the league, Rattler has the leg up on experience. He started six games last season when Derek Carr went down with injury and completed 130 passes for 1,317 yards and four touchdowns. He did throw five interceptions as a rookie. 

Shough is something of a wildcard. He enters the NFL as a 26-year-old rookie after seven years at the collegiate level, but he was hand-picked by Moore, his staff and New Orleans’ front office in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. 

Given that he was the first significant quarterback to join the room after Moore was hired, and the fact that the Saints invested significant draft capital into him, Shough is seen as the prohibitive favorite to win the job by the time the season rolls around. 

The starting spot won’t be handed to him, or any quarterback, though. 

“We feel good about letting all these guys go for it,” Moore said.