The ending of a 25-year run of prime-time games wasn't glaringly unexpected and, perhaps, may even be useful for the New Orleans Saints as they look to rebound from four consecutive non-playoff seasons.
"Well, we don't have any prime-time games so that's what the league thinks of us, and that's fine," Saints Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis said Monday before participating in the Saints Hall of Fame Celebrity Golf Tournament. "There's a lot about the schedule that I really like. We knew who we were going to play, (it was) just a matter of when and where and I kind of like the way it laid out."
Asked if the prime-time absence could be used as a motivational tool, Loomis said it could.
"Look, we're used to playing in prime time over the years, but we had five wins last year, so we can't really complain about it," he said. "We've got to go out and perform and earn those opportunities."
A major reason for the Saints' 5-12 finish last season, and perhaps a factor in New Orleans' absence from the NFL's night schedule, was instability at quarterback.
Derek Carr, who opened the 2023 and '24 seasons as the starter, announced his retirement May 10 after 11 seasons. He missed seven games in '24 with injuries.
"He was injured," Loomis said. "You have injuries come up and things that you may not think are serious at one time end up becoming serious. From that aspect, I would say it's not rare, but it doesn't happen very often. You get curveballs in this game all the time and this is one that we have to deal with."
New Orleans drafted Louisville's Tyler Shough in the second round this year, No. 40 overall, the highest pick the Saints have used on a quarterback since Archie Manning was selected No. 2 overall in 1971.
Shough will engage in a battle for the starting position with Spencer Rattler, who started six games as a rookie last year, and Jake Haener, who was drafted in '23 and started one game last year.
After adding Hunter Dekkers to the roster following his tryout this year at rookie minicamp, the Saints have four quarterbacks who've combined for seven NFL starts – all by Rattler and Haener – with no wins on the ledger.
But Loomis said adding a veteran to the room isn't a necessity.
"It's a young group, enthusiastic, there's talent there and I think we've got a great coaching staff. We've got three former quarterbacks with (head coach) Kellen (Moore), with (offensive coordinator) Doug (Nussmeier) and with (quarterbacks coach) Scott (Tolzien) in the room with them. I think that's a good mix.
"(Moore has) had success as a quarterback, he understands the position, he understands what he needs to ask from these guys at this stage of their career. I'm anxious and enthusiastic about seeing how it unfolds."
Moore will assess the collective unit more this week, as the Saints move into Phase III of OTAs.
"From a coaching staff perspective, we spend a lot of time building up to this stage, and so now it's an opportunity to get out there and coach and spend more time on the field than in the classroom, which is ultimately what we all want to do," he said.
"I think it's going to be a lot on the process and less on the results as we go through this phase, just because there's not much competitiveness. We will do some seven-on-seven but a lot of it's just their understanding – they're taking the classroom to the field for the first time. Most of the decision-making factors will come in training camp and preseason football, but this is a nice step for them."
DREW WILL VIEW: Former Saints quarterback Drew Brees, the franchise all-time leader in every passing category and currently No. 2 on the NFL all-time list in passing yards (80,358) and passing touchdowns (571), said he'll be keeping tabs on the quarterback competition.
He, too, has taken note of Shough's climb from multiple season-ending injuries in college to second-round draft choice.
"I think what's impressive to me is the kid has faced a lot of adversity and he's overcome it every step of the way," Brees said Saturday, while in Metairie for the grand opening of his Surge Entertainment Center. "I love (Louisville coach) Jeff Brohm – Jeff Brohm was Purdue's head coach for a long time (from 2017-22) – he's kind of known as one of those guys who can develop QBs and obviously Tyler Shough really thrived in that offense with him last year. I think he's big, strong, tough, stand in there, deliver the ball, take shots.
Moore said he and Brees have exchanged a few text messages since Moore was hired.
"When I was a player in Detroit, (former Saints quarterbacks coach) Joe Lombardi came up as our offensive coordinator, so we spent our whole offseason watching Drew and spending a lot of time understanding that system at the time. I always respected and loved Drew from afar. I feel like he's a perfect person as far as what we want to emulate here moving forward."
