How Saints ended up in QB purgatory: No succession plan after Drew Brees era was crippling, then it got worse

The New Orleans Saints are wandering in the quarterback wilderness. 

Truth be told, they have been since March 14, 2021, when franchise legend and future Pro Football Hall of Famer Drew Brees retired from playing football. Brees was instrumental in transforming the Saints from near-perennial bottom-feeder into an NFC powerhouse. He guided New Orleans to nine of its 14 total NFL playoff appearances, nine NFC South titles — including four straight from 2017-20 — and its first Super Bowl victory in 2009. 

New Orleans has been completely shut out of the postseason since Brees departed. Due to underperformance and injuries, the Saints have endured a revolving door of quarterbacks that culminated in a 5-12 record last season, New Orleans’ worst regular-season showing since 2005 — the year before Brees arrived. 

Further compounding the situation is the fact that Derek Carr, New Orleans’ biggest quarterback signing in almost 20 years, recently retired less than three seasons into his four-year contract due to lingering shoulder issues. That leaves new coach Kellen Moore, who never even worked with Carr in person prior to Carr’s retirement, with way more mystery than clarity at the most important position in football. 

So that begs the question, after fielding one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game of football for so long, how did New Orleans end up in this position? 

No clear succession plan 

It’s not easy to draft a franchise quarterback. It’s infinitely more difficult when you’re spoiled by 15 years of Hall of Fame-level quarterback play. That can make a franchise complacent. 

But it’s not impossible to lay out a clear succession plan while still leaning on a cornerstone QB. The Green Bay Packers have done it twice. They drafted Aaron Rodgers in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft and got three more seasons out of Brett Favre and then they selected Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft and got three more seasons out of Rodgers, including two MVP campaigns (2020 and 2021). Neither Rodgers nor Love got meaningful playing time until their fourth year as a professional. 

The Kansas City Chiefs took a big swing in the 2017 NFL Draft by snagging Patrick Mahomes with the 10th overall pick, even though Alex Smith was firmly entrenched as K.C.’s starter. Smith led the Chiefs to a 2017 AFC West division title before he was traded in January 2018. In case a reminder is necessary, Mahomes has since won three Super Bowls and earned two NFL MVP nods. 

Most obviously aren’t privy to the intricacies of New Orleans’ decision-making process, but the results show that the Saints never made a concerted effort to pick an adequate successor for Brees. 

Quarterbacks drafted by New Orleans Saints since 2006

*Stevens was drafted out of Mississippi State as a quarterback but converted to tight end in training camp. He was waived in November 2020.

The Saints drafted three quarterbacks while Brees was in New Orleans. None earlier than the third round, and they boast a combined zero NFL appearances. In fact, Canfield was the only of those three to last more than a year with the franchise, and a majority of that time was spent bouncing between the practice squad and the waiver wire. 

It’s not like New Orleans lacked in opportunities, especially in the twilight of Brees’ career. From 2018-21, the Saints’ earliest slotted draft pick was at No. 24 in 2020 (they did not have a first-round pick in 2019). New Orleans routinely drafted late in the first round, which tends to be the sweet spot for high-upside quarterbacks who need a couple of years to develop before they’re ready for a starting role. 

Notably, there was plenty of buzz between the Saints, who had the No. 27 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, and Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, a then-borderline first-round prospect who faced (unfair) questions about his abilities in the league. Instead of sitting for Jackson, New Orleans traded its 2018 first-round pick, a 2018 fifth-round pick and its 2019 first-round pick to move up to No. 14 and draft UTSA edge rusher Marcus Davenport. 

The injury plagued Davenport registered 21.5 sacks, nine of which came in 2021, in five years with the Saints. He has since played six combined games for the Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions from 2023-24. The Baltimore Ravens drafted Jackson with pick No. 32. He’s a two-time MVP, a three-time first-team All-Pro and a four-time Pro Bowler. 

Free agency swings and misses 

New Orleans has had eight separate quarterbacks start a game in the four seasons since Brees retired. Five of them signed with the team as free agents, including Swiss Army knife Taysom Hill, who joined the Saints in 2017 after going undrafted. 

Former Buccaneers No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston, who had an up-and-down career with Tampa Bay from 2015-19, got the nod in 2021. He actually led the Saints to a respectable 5-2 start while throwing for 1,170 yards and 14 touchdowns before tearing his ACL. He never really came back from that — at least not for New Orleans. 

Journeyman Trevor Siemian got four starts in the wake of Winston’s injury, but was benched with a 1-3 record, which allowed Hill to take over before he suffered a shoulder injury of his own. Prior to the 2022 season, the Saints signed 34-year-old Andy Dalton, who supplanted Winston as New Orleans’ starter four games into the year and finished his brief New Orleans career with a 6-8 starting record. 

Then came Carr. After whirling through a two-year quarterback carousel, the Saints gave Carr a four-year, $150 million contract to try and elevate the position and provide some stability on offense. It was the biggest commitment they made to a quarterback since signing Brees in 2006. 

In fact, Carr’s $37.5 million AAV was almost four times as high as what Brees made on his initial contract with New Orleans, though that does not take into account the inflated market between 2006 and 2023. Though Carr was solid when healthy — he threw for 6,023 yards and 40 touchdowns in 27 games as a starter — his time in the Big Easy coincides with New Orleans’ sharp downturn and, thus, his tenure won’t be remembered fondly. 

Saints coach Kellen Moore not interested in adding a veteran QB for now: ‘We feel like we’ve got a good room’

Will Backus

Carr’s 2024 shoulder injury, which ultimately brought his time in New Orleans to an abrupt end, caused the Saints to turn to Haener and Rattler — the first quarterbacks drafted by New Orleans to start a game for the franchise since Book in 2021 — down the stretch last season. They went a combined 0-7. 

Where Saints can go from here 

New Orleans has not drafted a quarterback in the first round since 1971, when it took Archie Manning second overall. That’s likely going to change. 

Maybe Tyler Shough ends up being a steal. There’s certainly some evaluators who regard the 25-year-old rookie (Shough will be 26 around the time the 2025 season commences) as an NFL-ready signal-caller, and he’s in good hands with Moore as his head coach, but he has an extensive injury history and relatively limited playing time in spite of his age. The Saints could also see what they have with Haener and Rattler, though neither has inspired much confidence when given playing time. 

Regardless of who takes a majority of reps in 2025, most projections have New Orleans falling inside of the top three of the 2026 NFL Draft. That type of premium slot means that New Orleans can address its future at quarterback. 

LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier is a name that will draw plenty of attention. He’s a big-bodied gunslinger, he plays at Louisiana’s premier collegiate program and he’s the son of former Saints quarterback and current Saints offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier. 

Penn State’s Drew Allar is another option. Like Nussmeier, he has an NFL-ready frame with a big arm. His accuracy, poise and decision-making have improved in each successive year with the Nittany Lions, as well, so he’s on an upward trajectory. 

Even if Shough proves to be a positive find by Moore and his staff, or Haener or Rattler take big leaps, New Orleans almost has to address the quarterback position early in next year’s draft. If nothing else, it could be the spark that the otherwise declining franchise needs to restore some hope.