Saints HC Kellen Moore dismisses concern about Tyler Shough's age as rookie after Philip Rivers' unretirement at 44

The New Orleans Saints appear increasingly confident that 26-year old rookie quarterback Tyler Shough can be a long-term answer. When asked whether his age was a concern, Saints coach Kellen Moore dismissed the idea.

"Phillip (Rivers) is playing, at some point, at 44 (years old) potentially, so I think we have a few more years," Moore said during Wednesday's press conference.

He explained why experience, not age, matters.

"Tons of experience, tons of exposure," Moore said. "You can go through a lot of historical references throughout all of college football going into the NFL and guys that played a lot of football in college football, positively and in challenging situations, guys that played a bunch of years and a bunch of experience, those are the guys that are able to handle it.

"He hasn't played in perfect environments where you win every game and you've got all these guys around you that provide you with that."

Kellen added that NFL quarterbacks continue to get better late in their careers.

"He's navigated a bunch of stuff and so I thought that was great," Kellen said. "Quarterbacks in this league, I think there's a maturing that goes much further than maybe other positions, because there's such a mental component to it.

"You look at a lot of these quarterbacks that are playing as good as anyone in this league, a bunch of them are all in their 30s. (Matthew Stafford]) is late-30s, the Dak's (Prescott) of the world are in their early-30s, they're still getting better."

Shough spent seven seasons in college with Oregon, Texas Tech and Louisville. He has played both as a backup and a starter, while also dealing with multiple season-ending injuries.

Despite the long path, he has produced steadily since becoming New Orleans’ QB1. He has recorded 1,084 passing yards, five touchdowns, four interceptions, 94 rushing yards and two rushing scores in five starts.

Kellen Moore’s QB strategy worked, Tyler Shough and Spencer Rattler perform for Saints

After Derek Carr’s retirement in May, New Orleans entered the season with inexperienced quarterbacks Spencer Rattler, Tyler Shough and Jake Haener. Saints coach Kellen Moore opted to develop them despite receiving backlash for not adding a veteran.

Rattler improved in Year 2 with faster reads and better decision-making; however, Shough’s development has turned out to be the real breakthrough. He has shown calm pocket presence and growth that former New Orleans linebacker Scott Shanle credited to coaching.