Saints training camp is upon us. The Black and Gold will get back on the field starting Wednesday, July 23rd. After a disappointing last handful of years, the front office made changes to the coaching staff, among other members of the team.
With all of this newness, there are plenty of questions to ask about this 2025 version of the Saints. Here are a few that need to be answered by the start of the regular season:
HOW DOES THE QUARTERBACK BATTLE UNFOLD?
The subject based on this year’s quarterback room is the most apparent. New Orleans has been looking for the successor to Drew Brees for five years now and has yet to find a long-term solution. As of right now, the quarterback room features rookie Tyler Shough, second-year Spencer Rattler, third-year Jake Haener, and UDFA Hunter Dekkers.
Haener and Dekkers aren’t in real contention for the starting role, though. Dekkers has an uphill battle to climb just to make the 53-man roster since most teams only carry three quarterbacks. Haener, on the other hand, has a slight chance to be the starting quarterback, but has been further behind than Shough and Rattler after he’s been recovering from an oblique injury he suffered two months ago.
This’ll mostly be a two-man race for the starting job, with the only two signal callers who are plausible to win the job being Shough and Rattler. For Rattler, he has a year under his belt and spent plenty of time on the field in 2024. The former South Carolina Gamecock appeared in seven games last season and started in six of them. Three of those starts came at the end of the season once playoff contention was thrown out of the window for good.
Shough’s been learning the ropes ever since being selected in the second round (40th overall) in this past April’s draft. Despite having less NFL experience, Shough is over a year older and was taken higher than Rattler was, as he was taken in the fifth round of the 2024 draft. Also, Shough signed his rookie contract over the weekend. The soon-to-be 26-year-old and the Saints agreed to give the rookie a four-year, fully guaranteed $10.795 million deal.
This is expected to be a real quarterback competition. Both Shough and Rattler will split first-team reps throughout camp to give each player a legit chance to show the coaching staff why they deserve to lead the team and win the job.
WHO STANDS OUT ON THE DEFENSIVE LINE?
There is no shortage of players on the defensive line for the Saints.
Newly hired defensive coordinator Brandon Staley will plan to run a multiple defense, meaning you will see different formations in different scenarios. Sometimes they will have three down linemen, and other times there will be four, maybe even five, depending on the situation. The go-to in Staley’s system will be to down three defensive linemen, and with a variation of either four linebackers or five defensive backs.
Players such as Chase Young and Carl Granderson have been reclassified as outside linebackers, meaning they won’t count in the equation. Others like Cam Jordan, Davon Godchaux, and Bryan Bresee do count. Those three, plus Nathan Shepherd and Khalen Saunders, have a leg up in making the roster and have a more prominent role in the roation with just about everyone else fighting for those last few spots.
New Orleans acquired Godchaux from the New England Patriots early on during the new league year and is expected to be the main nose tackle who’ll line up in front of the center to stop the run. Jordan’s career has led to him becoming one of the best to ever suit up for the Black and Gold, but there’s much speculation about how much he has left in the tank. That won’t stop him from playing a majority of the snaps in 2025.
A player to look out for that is poised to take that next step forward in his development is Bresee. The former Clemson Tiger has gotten better through his first two years in the league after being taken in the first round of the 2023 draft.
CAN THEY STAY HEALTHY?
The Saints have been no stranger to having their best players miss practice and playing time due to injury. It is the nature of the game, and teams across the league watch key players go down year in and year out, even in training camp.
There are no new injuries for New Orleans heading into camp, which is a good start, but the team is waiting for the return of some notable players on the offensive side of the football.
As previously mentioned, quarterback Jake Haener has dealt with an oblique injury for the last couple of months yet plans to return to the practice field as soon as camp starts. The other two missing are a pair of tight ends. Those tight ends are Taysom Hill and Foster Moreau. Both sustained significant, late-season injuries at the end of last year, leaving that position room a little thin.
Other key players who are on the team and missed significant time over the past few seasons were Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Kendre Miller, Cam Akers, and Erik McCoy. And that was just on offense. New Orleans has watched plenty of defensive players wear street clothes on the sideline as the team lacked on-field success.
Losing as few players to injury is always a goal for a team like the Saints. If they can break the curse that has hung over the franchise for the last handful of years, the team and fanbase could see fortunes change in the Big Easy. New Orleans looks to have acquired more overall depth than in previous years. The extra amount of quality talent will help steady the ship if and when things go awry.