Saints quarterbacks keen on coach Kellen Moore's approach to letting them compete
METAIRIE, La. (AP) — First-year Saints coach Kellen Moore made all four of his quarterbacks available for interviews after the second practice of training camp Thursday, reflecting how open their competition for the starting job is.
All between the ages of 26 and 24, and without a single NFL victory among them, the four QBs portray themselves more as comrades than competitors.
'We're all kind of around the same age," said Tyler Shough, a 2025 second-round pick out of Louisville who turns 26 in September. "We kind of have that great mindset of: We're competing, but we're having fun and we're trying to get better.'
The early front runners appear to be Shough and Spencer Rattler, a 2024 fifth-round pick out of South Carolina whose six starts last season makes him the most veteran QB on the roster. They took first-team snaps during the first two practices of camp.
'I wouldn't say it's a toxic QB room at all. We're in there having fun, chopping it up,' Rattler said. "I really enjoy working with those guys — and competing with them, too.
'If you don't want to do that," Rattler added, "you're probably not built for this.'
Also in the mix are Jake Haener, a 26-year-old 2023 fourth-round pick our of Fresno State; and Hunter Dekkers, a left-handed, 24-year-old undrafted rookie who was signed after a tryout during rookie camp.
'This league does not care about your feelings," said Haener, who also played for Moore's brother, Kirby, at Fresno State.
'If they didn't truly believe that I could be a guy that they think could win the starting job, they wouldn't include me in it. Simple as that,' Haener said. "They wouldn't just (do it to ) make me feel good about myself.'
Haener said he sees himself as an underdog — mainly because that approach has worked well for him.
'I just think I'm counted out for whatever reason — maybe not the most athletic, not the strongest, not the biggest,' the 6-foot-1 Haener said. "That's been my biggest motivator my whole life.'
Dekkers, meanwhile, is seeking redemption after his involvement in a gambling scandal while he was at Iowa State got him banned from the NCAA. After sitting out the 2023 football season, he played last season for Iowa Western Community College.
'Whenever I get my chance on the field, it's just to show what I can do; that's all I can really do at this point," Dekkers said.
'I went through the hardest time of my life the past two years," Dekkers added. 'I definitely had a lot of learning moments."
The main lesson, Dekkers said, was not to "take what you have for granted at all, because you don't know when it can be taken away.'
Moore, who was the offensive coordinator for the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles last season, is a former NFL quarterback himself. So are his offensive coordinator, Doug Nussmeier, and QB coach, Scott Tolzien.
Moore concedes that there are benefits to having a hierarchy at quarterback earlier than later, particularly as it pertains to developing consistency and chemistry on offense. But, given his offensive staff's knowledge of the position, he also likes the idea of molding four young QBs as relative equals until, over the course of camp and preseason games, one distinguishes himself from the others.
'I'm fired up to just let those guys play it out,' said Moore, who is trying to turn around a club that went 5-12 last season and hasn't made the playoffs since 2020. 'We'll let the process take as long as it needs."
Meanwhile, established members of the Saints' offense express confidence that Moore has the right idea about this QB competition.
'The quarterback is the heart of the offense. Whoever's back there, we're going to have full confidence in," receiver Chris Olave said. "Whoever's back there is going to have to play ball.'
Notes: A brief scuffle broke out during Thursday's practice. At the center of it were veteran receiver Brandin Cooks and defensive back Alontae Taylor. Cooks was a 2014 first-round draft choice by New Orleans who returned to the Saints this offseason after playing for other clubs between 2017 and 2024.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
recommended
Item 1 of 3
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox Sports
2 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Vaughn emerges as one of league's hottest hitters with Brewers after slumping with White Sox
Associated Press MILWAUKEE (AP) — When Andrew Vaughn joined the Milwaukee Brewers last month with a chance to rejuvenate a career that had gone sideways, the message he received from his new team was simple. If you chase, you won't play. Vaughn took that advice to heart, and suddenly the guy who was batting well below .200 for the first two months of the season is one of baseball's hottest hitters. His remarkable turnaround produced its biggest highlight yet on Tuesday night as Vaughn hit a grand slam and had a career-high six RBIs in the Brewers' 9-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Vaughn's performance helped the Brewers extend their NL Central lead over Chicago to two games. 'It's a special group here right now,' said Vaughn, who went 3 for 4 on Tuesday. 'We're playing really good baseball. It's fun to be a part of.' Vaughn is batting .375 with a .439 on-base percentage, .771 slugging percentage, five homers and 21 RBIs in 15 games since joining the Brewers on July 7. The only player in the major leagues with more RBIs during that stretch is Philadelphia's Kyle Schwarber. 'It's been awesome,' teammate Jackson Chourio said through an interpreter. 'The way he's been able to help us out has just been spectacular. It's just been inspiring to watch.' Vaughn's surge is particularly notable because he was struggling as much as just about any hitter in the game for much of the season. After hitting a combined 71 homers for the Chicago White Sox from 2021-24, Vaughn batted just .189 with a .218 on-base percentage, five homers and 19 RBIs in 48 games before he got sent down to the minors. Vaughn was still playing with Triple-A Charlotte when the Brewers acquired him in a June 13 trade that sent Aaron Civale to Chicago. The Brewers initially assigned Vaughn to their Triple-A team in Nashville, but they called him up when a thumb sprain sent first baseman Rhys Hoskins to the injured list. Little did the Brewers know the guy they'd picked up from the minors would get on this kind of heater. 'The kid's been unbelievable,' manager Pat Murphy said. Murphy noted that Vaughn is swinging at the right pitches now. Vaughn concedes that wasn't the case earlier when he was with the White Sox. 'Early in the year, I was hitting the ball hard, maybe swinging at some bad pitches,' Vaughn said. 'Just trying to hone in on that, focus on getting my pitch to hit.' Vaughn certainly found the right offering Tuesday when he sent the first pitch he saw from Ryan Pressly over the left-field wall for his second career grand slam. Vaughn also drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the second and hit an RBI single in the fifth. He has gone 8 of 15 over his last four games while helping the Brewers overcome their injury issues at first base. Jake Bauers joined Hoskins on the injured list July 20 with a left shoulder issue. Yet the Brewers have kept on winning with Vaughn taking over at first. Vaughn's transformation at the plate is similar to the turnaround he's encountered in the standings. After playing for last-place White Sox teams, he savors the opportunity to have a major role on a Brewers squad that has the best record in the majors. 'Winning's fun, and we've been doing it a lot,' Vaughn said. 'We want to keep it going.' ___ AP MLB: recommended Item 1 of 3
New York Times
3 minutes ago
- New York Times
Inside Liverpool's commercial juggernaut: New Adidas deal, 1.7bn engagements and why Asia matters
According to figures from Blinkfire Analytics, Liverpool had 1.7billion engagements across all social media platforms last season — more than the top 10 teams in the NFL or the NBA combined. There were 60m alone on the April day when Arne Slot's side clinched the Premier League title. Yet that is just one way in which the club's off-field operation has mushroomed in recent years. Over the past decade, commercial revenue has almost tripled. The last set of accounts for 2023-24 was significant in that, for the first time, commercial income (£308million) was more than half of total revenue (£614m). It was also the first time in the Premier League era that they had surpassed arch-rivals Manchester United (£303m) commercially. Advertisement 'There's been a step-change in terms of our revenue, but there's still a lot of room for us to grow,' Liverpool's chief commercial officer Ben Latty tells The Athletic. 'The potential is huge. I believe we're only just getting started in terms of where we can go as a commercial business. We have got the right people and the right structure in place to really kick on now.' Out-performing United or trying to reel in Manchester City (£344million), the only Premier League club with a higher income commercially, isn't what drives Latty and his staff, who are dotted around offices all over the world. He insists he 'wouldn't even be able to tell you what their commercial numbers are'. Instead, Liverpool's ambition revolves around maximising revenues from streams they can influence. 'Controllable revenue — matchday and commercial — is what I'm focused on,' Latty says. 'Media money is great but, to an extent, it's based on the on-pitch performance. We have to be a football club which is sustainable in everything we do.' Latty, who reports to Liverpool's CEO Billy Hogan, was promoted to the role of chief commercial officer in 2024, two years after returning to the fold as commercial director, having stepped down as head of global partnership sales in 2021 to join a group in Bristol operating professional teams in football, rugby union and basketball. The club have set up partnerships, with staff permanently based in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Boston and New York in the United States, and in London as well as on Merseyside at home. Multi-million pound deals have been struck with high-profile blue-chip U.S.-based brands such as mobile-phone firm Google Pixel, fitness company Peloton, logistics and shipping giants UPS and digital strategists Orion Innovation. But the importance of the Asian market to Liverpool remains as strong as ever. According to the club's data, they have close to 250million fans across the continent, and it is their biggest region for retail revenue. Advertisement Nine of Liverpool's 20 standalone retail stores across the world are in Asia, with the latest opening its doors in Hong Kong last week. They also have 48 official supporters' clubs spread across the continent. That is part of the appeal for shirt sponsors Standard Chartered and training kit sponsors AXA, as well as official partners such as Japan Airlines and Tokyo-based publisher Kodansha. Liverpool's current pre-season tour, with money-spinning friendly matches in Hong Kong and Japan, ticks a lot of boxes. 'When it comes to tours, we always assess the market and look at different options both east and west,' Latty says. 'Before we made any decisions, we sat down with (sporting director) Richard Hughes, (his assistant) David Woodfine, (director of medicine and performance) John Power and others to go through all the options available. 'Some will be questioned based on football suitability, training facilities, et cetera. Football preparation is paramount, but the football-operations team understand the commercial value of these tours, too. For us, it's about bringing the club closer to fans who maybe can't get to Anfield.' Twice during Brendan Rodgers' reign as manager, pre-season tours to Asia also involved fixtures in Australia. The only time Liverpool have gone there since 2015 was for a post-season friendly in Sydney in 2017. Was it ever on the agenda to visit Australia this time? 'There were some reports, but it was nowhere near advanced,' Latty says. 'We always look at it. We never rule it out, but for this tour specifically, the idea was that we would do these two games and then get back to Anfield. 'We would have looked to play another game at Anfield on top of Athletic Club (the Spanish side visit for two back-to-back games on Monday, August 4), but the success of the team meant we have the Community Shield to play (on August 10) before the Premier League game against Bournemouth on the Friday night (August 15). That meant the window was reduced.' Advertisement In the past, Liverpool alternated their pre-season tours between the U.S. and Asia. How about 2026? 'We always start to look at our options a year out,' Latty says. 'That will be a mix of speaking to promoters or looking at how we could do it ourselves. If you do it yourself, you take some of that risk and back yourself in terms of filling stadia. The football side guides us in terms of what's best for the team, and then you also take into account what's going to give you commercial security and enable you to make the most of the window available to us.' The links between the club's sponsors and Asia are clear, but there was no contractual obligation to play in either Hong Kong or Japan this summer. 'There are so many variables,' Latty explains. 'Stadium availability, opposition availability, making sure there are the right training facilities. There are no guarantees. But we know when a partner is focused on a certain market and if the stars align, then we try to make it work.' Current deals with Standard Chartered and sleeve sponsor Expedia run until 2027, with discussions over possible extensions due to begin imminently. 'We'll be starting that process, both in terms of having discussions with the incumbent and naturally you'd expect us to go and talk to the market as well,' Latty says. 'At this time, I don't believe there's any bigger football club than Liverpool.' There's the strange scenario on this tour of Liverpool playing in last season's Nike kit as their new deal with Adidas doesn't begin until August 1. It's down to the fact the start of Nike's five-year contract was delayed because the 2019-20 season was extended into the July due to a three-month hiatus enforced by the Covid-19 pandemic. Liverpool will wear Nike gear for the final time in a while against Yokohama F. Marinos at Nissan Stadium today (Wednesday) before flying home. The big Adidas launch will follow on Friday, with the flagship club store at Anfield reopening having undergone a major summer makeover. 'It's just the reality of the situation,' Latty says. 'When you think back to when we started the partnership with Nike, it was late because of Covid. One thing I will say is that Nike have been incredible. They said they would be good partners until the very end and they've been true to their word. In terms of providing the equipment and kit needed for this tour, they have delivered everything we asked for. Advertisement 'You tend to launch a new kit in May and potentially wear it for the final game of a season, depending on the significance of the fixture. We haven't been able to do that, but August 1 will be big for us.' Latty insists there was never any prospect of an agreement being reached where Adidas would take over a few months early: 'We were always going to honour the contract with Nike. When we first entered into discussions with Adidas, it was always clear when we could start the partnership and everyone knew exactly where they stood. It won't happen again and won't really impact us.' It means Liverpool have three new kits to launch in a short period of time — a process that will be staggered in the coming days. The Adidas deal will certainly be more profitable for them than the Nike one. Figures remain confidential, and it will be partly linked to sales and team performance, but the yearly windfall will be a lot more than the figure of £60million per year which had previously been mooted. A new club mobile app has been launched and, under the terms of the contract, Liverpool will continue to have the freedom to commission and sell their own branded merchandise through the club's retail operations. 'With kit deals, there are so many variables,' Latty adds. 'It's really hard to compare a kit deal with Liverpool to a kit deal with a competitor. The way we run our merchandising business is completely different to most other clubs as we do everything ourselves. Some clubs are happy to outsource it. 'For us, having flexibility and ensuring we get the product into the hands of our fans around the world through the right distribution network is really important. 'We had record kit sales year on year (with Nike). It was a competitive situation, and varying factors meant that Adidas were the party we moved forward with. They have been great in that, as long as it doesn't impact their business, we can do what we want. That's a successful part of the merchandising business we've got as we look to keep growing. 'As Billy Hogan said recently, we're one of the biggest clubs in the world and we want to act like it. That's the case both on and off the field.'
San Francisco Chronicle
28 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Officials work to unravel how and why gunman carried out deadly attack on NYC office building
NEW YORK (AP) — Investigators are piecing together more details about how a former high school football player who blamed the game for his mental health problems carried out a deadly attack on an office building that is home to the NFL. Shane Tamura killed four people on Monday before killing himself, spraying the skyscraper's lobby with bullets and then continuing his rampage on the 33rd floor, authorities said. Inside his wallet, a handwritten note claimed he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known at CTE, and accused the NFL of hiding the dangers of brain injuries linked to contact sports, investigators said. Detectives were still working to unravel more details about the 27-year-old's background and motivations. They planned to question a man who supplied gun parts for the AR-15-style rifle used in the attack, including the weapon's lower receiver, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a video statement. Among the dead were a police officer, a security guard and two people who worked at companies in the building. An NFL employee was badly wounded but survived. Tamura, a Las Vegas casino security worker, had intended to target the NFL's headquarters in the building but took the wrong elevator, officials said. It's unclear whether he showed symptoms of CTE, which can be diagnosed only by examining a brain after death. Tamura, who played high school football in California a decade ago but never played in the NFL, had a history of mental illness, police said without giving details. In the three-page note found on his body, he accused the NFL of concealing the dangers to players' brains for profit. The degenerative brain disease has been linked to concussions and other repeated head trauma common in contact sports such as football. At a Tuesday night vigil for those killed in the shooting, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and other faith leaders delivered prayers at a park about a dozen blocks from where the shooting took place. Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul spoke of the need for stronger gun laws. 'We cannot respond to senseless gun laws through vigils,' Adams said. NFL boss calls shooting 'unspeakable' Tamura's note repeatedly said he was sorry and asked that his brain be studied for CTE. The NFL long denied the link between football and CTE, but it acknowledged the connection in 2016 testimony before Congress and has paid more than $1.4 billion to retired players to settle concussion-related claims. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who works out of the offices, called the shooting 'an unspeakable act of violence." The shooting happened at a skyscraper on Park Avenue, one of the nation's most recognized streets, just blocks from Grand Central Terminal and Rockefeller Center. It is less than a 15-minute walk from where UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed last December by a man who prosecutors say was angry over what he saw as corporate greed. Video shows the gunman stroll into the building Tamura drove across the country in the days before the attack and into New York City, Tisch said. Surveillance video showed him exit his BMW outside the building at about 6:30 p.m. Monday wearing a button-down shirt and jacket with the rifle at his side. Once inside the lobby, he opened fire and killed Islam and Wesley LePatner, a real estate executive at the investment firm Blackstone, which occupies much of the building. Tamura then made his way toward the elevator bank, shooting the NFL employee and an unarmed security guard, Aland Etienne, who helped control access to the upper floors. Tamura waited for the next elevator to arrive in the lobby, let a woman walk safely out of the elevator, then rode it up to the 33rd-floor offices of the company that owns the building, Rudin Management. He killed a worker for that company before killing himself, officials said. Friends and family mourn killed officer Officer Didarul Islam, 36, who was guarding the building on a paid security job when he was killed, had served as a police officer in New York City for over three years. He was an immigrant from Bangladesh and was working a department-approved building security job when he was shot. Islam leaves a pregnant wife and two children. Friends and family stopped by their Bronx home on Tuesday to drop off food and pay their respects. 'He was a very friendly guy and a hardworking guy,' said Tanjim Talukdar, who knew him best from Friday prayers. 'Whenever I see him or he sees me, he says, 'How are you, my brother?'' ___ Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut, and Seewer from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press reporters Michael Balsamo, Philip Marcelo and Julie Walker in New York; Maryclaire Dale in Philadelphia, Rob Maaddi in Tampa, Florida; Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey; and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.
