Saints releasing veteran QB after Tyler Shough selection

The New Orleans Saints entered the 2025 NFL Draft with questions about Derek Carr's health. As a result, the Saints selected Louisville QB Tyler Shough in the second round at No. 40 overall, even ahead of Alabama's Jalen Milroe and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders in a bit of a surprise. The Saints QB room then consisted of Carr, Shough, Jake Haener, Spencer Rattler and veteran Ben DiNucci, so it seemed to be a matter of time before somebody was let go.

Well, that happened on Tuesday as DiNucci was released, as he revealed on his X page.

“The NFL is a tough business. Always has been and always will be. Got released by the Saints this morning. Control what I can control and go back to work.”

DiNucci has been around quite a bit since coming into the league. He was originally a seventh-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2020 NFL Draft after playing college football at Pittsburgh and James Madison.

DiNucci then spent time with each of the Cowboys, Denver Broncos, and Buffalo Bills before coming to New Orleans and being mainly on the practice squad.

DiNucci was even with the Seattle Sea Dragons, an XFL team, so he has been back and forth a lot in an up-and-down career.

The veteran was essentially a practice squad player for the Saints, but the addition of Shough and young quarterbacks, including Haener and Rattle,r made it tough to justify keeping him on their roster.

DiNucci was signed by the Saints toward the end of the 2024 season, so he didn't end up sticking around very long. He most notably played in three games in 2020 for the Cowboys, including one start, although he didn't throw for a touchdown during that season with Dallas.

Now he hits free agency again in hopes of a team that is interested in a veteran backup.

Saints QB Tyler Shough's mindset after NFL Draft selection

Tyler Shough spoke on his approach as he joins the Saints.

The New Orleans Saints made an eye-opening selection of Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough with the No. 40 overall pick in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and the new quarterback opened up on his approach as he joins the organization.

“The benefit of, you know, my career is that I've seen a lot of the stuff that can go on and I'm ready for it, and my job is to be ready and make the team better any way I can,” Tyler Shough said, via SiriusXM. “I don't know about the specifics of the situation, but I'm fired up to get in the room with those guys and just learn and grow and do everything I can to get better myself and yeah, my job is to get ready and just bust my butt and I can't wait for it. Just because I've only really good things about them, and I know like you said, this whole journey has only made me mentally razor-focused and ready to go, so I feel like I am ready to go at any moment's time, but I know I have a lot to learn and grow and get better at.”

Shough joins the Saints at a time when Derek Carr is dealing with uncertainty due to the status of his injury. Still, the Saints needed a long-term answer at quarterback, and they hope Shough can fill that need.

It was not the usual route to the NFL for Shough, as he spent three years at Oregon, three more at Texas Tech and one more at Louisville. At one point, he was Justin Herbert's backup at Oregon, and injuries plagued him over the course of his career. However, his last year at Louisville was his best, and some believe his arm talent is very good. The Saints decided to pull the trigger despite the injury history and Shough being 25 years old.

It will be interesting to see if Shough can earn the starting job in the 2025 season given the amount of experience he has had in college.