Saints select Tyler Shough with No. 40 pick in NFL draft

The Saints select Louisville QB Tyler Shough with the 40th pick as the third quarterback off the board in the 2025 NFL draft. (0:30)

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The New Orleans Saints drafted their potential franchise quarterback in the second round of the NFL draft.

And it wasn't Shedeur Sanders.

The Saints bypassed Sanders for the second time in as many nights Friday night, selecting Louisville's Tyler Shough with the 40th overall pick.

Shough could be a potential replacement for Derek Carr, whose future with the Saints is uncertain. New Orleans had the ninth overall pick in Thursday's first round, but passed on available quarterbacks -- including Sanders -- to select offensive lineman Kelvin Banks Jr.

Shough was the third quarterback selected in this year's draft after Cam Ward (No. 1) and Jaxson Dart (No. 25), while Sanders remained available after being widely projected as a first-round pick earlier in the predraft process.

The selection of Shough means the Saints could be looking to a future beyond Carr, who was signed as a free agent under then-coach Dennis Allen in 2023. Carr's future came into question after coach Kellen Moore appeared to be non-committal about him as a starter in his opening press conference in February.

Moore later backed Carr during multiple offseason interviews in the following month, and the Saints restructured his contract that essentially tied Carr to them for at least one more season.

However, Carr was open to exploring his other options before the restructure. Carr also has a shoulder injury that was not made public until the weekend before the team's report date for offseason workouts.

Shough, who will turn 26 in September, is the oldest quarterback in this year's draft class. He played seven seasons of college football, beginning in 2018 at Oregon, where he started seven games in the COVID-19 shortened season in 2020.

Shough then transferred to Texas Tech and started nine games over the next three seasons, missing time due to a collarbone injury and a broken leg.

Shough's final season was at Louisville in 2024, where he started 12 games and completed 62.7% of his passes for 3,915 yards and 23 touchdowns. He ran for one touchdown and threw six interceptions. Shough played in the Senior Bowl, where the Saints have gotten many recent draft picks, including their last two quarterbacks drafted.

The Saints have selected a quarterback in the last three drafts -- taking Spencer Rattler in the fifth round of the 2024 draft and Jake Haener in the fourth round of the 2023 draft.

ESPN's Katherine Terrell contributed to this report.

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