Training camps have kicked off around the NFL, and our team reporters are on the ground each day following all the action. The New Orleans Saints' camp is taking place in Metairie, Louisiana and Saints reporter Katherine Terrell has the latest intel on standouts, highlights, position battles, depth chart movement, cut decisions and of course the quarterback room.
What follows is everything we are seeing and hearing at Saints camp. We will file the latest updates. Who will emerge with the starting quarterback job? Who are the breakouts to watch, especially for fantasy football? And which players on the roster bubble could make the final 53?
Let's get into it all, and be sure to keep checking back for more information until the first full week of the preseason begins on Aug. 7.
Latest news from Saints camp
Wednesday, Aug. 6
The Saints did not practice today as they traveled to California ahead of their first preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Camp recap: Who has been your standout performer of camp?
CB Kool-Aid McKinstry. He has been extremely solid in an important year for him -- he'll go into the season as the team's top outside CB following the departures of Paulson Adebo and Marshon Lattimore.
Coach Kellen Moore recently said McKinstry is doing a "phenomenal job" and said the team expects a big leap in Year 2.
Camp recap: What is the biggest question to answer for your team in preseason games?
Who is going to be the quarterback this season? Will it be Tyler Shough or Spencer Rattler?
The preseason games could go a long way to determining which quarterback is ready to start in actual games. Moore has not yet said which quarterback will get the start against the Chargers this week.
The Saints were splitting first team reps between Shough, Rattler and Jake Haener for a while, but as of the last few practices, Haener has been with the third team. Rattler has started back-to-back practices with the first team, perhaps giving a hint of the pecking order in the upcoming game.
Tuesday, Aug. 5
Saints coach Kellen Moore called Tuesday's session a "transition practice" after a grueling scrimmage on Sunday.
Moore said many of the players were sore from the scrimmage, and he's trying to get them used to playing through that soreness like they will in the regular season. That fatigue showed in some offensive sloppiness, with multiple dropped passes.
Rookie quarterback Tyler Shough started practice with the second team by rolling out and finding Chris Olave, but that was the highlight of his practice. He was picked off by Jordan Howden and appeared to be sacked at least three times -- one each by Jonah Williams, Cameron Jordan and Khalen Saunders.
Spencer Rattler, who was the first-team starter for the second straight practice, was almost picked off by Alontae Taylor when targeting Olave.
Shough to Olave 🤝 pic.twitter.com/gYEhCigrAh
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) August 5, 2025
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Center Erik McCoy played sparingly on Tuesday to try to manage his rep count. Safety Justin Reid was another player who had a light workload.
Running back Alvin Kamara will not play in the team's first preseason game.
Rookie running back Devin Neal will be out for several weeks with a hamstring injury, safety J.T. Gray returned to practice, and tight end Juwan Johnson, who did not practice, is still considered day-to-day.
The Saints will fly to California on Wednesday, where they will practice leading up to their first preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers, and then they will stay until they return to Louisiana on Aug. 15. They will practice in the afternoons instead of in the mornings, like they have been in Metairie.
Charlie Smyth went 3-of-5 in his kicking session.
Sunday, Aug. 3
Saints rookie quarterback Tyler Shough had one of his best practices of training camp in a marathon scrimmage session. Coach Kellen Moore said there were 126 offensive plays, all called live instead of scripted before practice.
While Spencer Rattler started the practice with the first team, he and Shough both got time with the top unit -- Jake Haener worked with the third team. Shough competed 8-of-8 in his first series (with the second team) and threw a touchdown to pass to tight end Michael Jacobson.
The rookie went four-and-out in his second series. He moved to the first-team unit on his third series and completed 9-of-12 passes, including seven straight, but appeared to be flagged for intentional grounding near the end zone. He also threw a would-be pick to in the end zone to Quincy Riley, who was ruled out of bounds.
Shough did have some learning moments. He was almost picked off later in practice after his pass was batted at the line of scrimmage. Later, he was picked off by Nephi Sewell when looking for Rashid Shaheed.
Rattler drove the team down the field on his first series, going 5-of-8 with a dropped pass, but the offense stalled and kicked a field goal. One of his best throws at practice came on a deep ball to Shaheed in his second series, and he was picked off late in practice by Kool-Aid McKinstry.
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There were multiple standout defensive plays, including a pass breakup by Julian Blackmon when Rattler was looking for Treyton Welch, PBUs by Terrell Burgess and Rico Payton, a sack by Ugo Amadi and batted passes by Danny Stutsman and Chris Rumph II.
Will Clapp and Welch left practice briefly with injuries but returned.
J.T. Gray (hamstring) did not practice and Juwan Johnson was limited.
Saturday, Aug. 2
The New Orleans Saints had a noticeably more subdued practice on Saturday, two days after their best practice of training camp.
Quarterback Tyler Shough was with the first team to begin the practice, Jake Haener with the second team and Spencer Rattler with the third team for the first time. The Saints didn't have many notable performances, particularly on offense, as they focused on situational goals, working on plays backed up near the end zone and a four-minute situation. In those situations, the Saints changed quarterbacks often, sometimes rotating them by the play, but none of the three had a standout day.
"The four minute obviously you're slowing the operation down on purpose, so that one did slow down quite a bit," said Saints coach Kellen Moore when asked if the practice felt slower paced. "But yeah, maybe."
Moore said there will be a scrimmage on Sunday with the possibility of some live tackling at the end. The scrimmage will feature live calls by the coaches instead of following a script.
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The Saints placed OL Nick Saldiveri on season-ending IR with a knee injury and re-signed C/G Shane Lemieux. Khalen Saunders had an excused absence. J.T. Gray did not practice, while John Ridgeway, Devin Neal and Juwan Johnson were limited.
Punter James Burnip and new punter Kai Kroeger took turns punting.
Charlie Smyth went 3-for-5 in kicks on Saturday and had one blocked by Justin Reid
Blake Grupe joked in his media session that long-snapper Zach Wood was no longer the lowest rated player in Madden this year. "So, for years, Zach Wood has been the worst player in Madden, and they finally came out and made long-snappers a position, so he's no longer a 26 overall, he's a 79 and tied for the third-highest rated snapper in the game," Grupe said. "Zach Wood doesn't get enough love around here."
Safeties Reid and Julian Blackmon had some fun after practice, escorting rookie Jonas Sanker to his media session and asking him several questions. Reid, a Louisiana native, joked Sanker would be fined by the safeties after admitting he had yet to try some local food.
Thursday, July 31
The Saints went indoors Thursday and had their liveliest practice of all camp. With officials in attendance again, they went through an extensive two-minute competitive situation that caused some controversy. While all three quarterbacks got their turn, Jake Haener led the third team to the end zone when officials called pass interference, giving the Saints one untimed down at the 1-yard line. Haener threw a pass to Mason Tipton in the corner of the end zone and officials called it a touchdown to end the practice.
The defense argued their case so vehemently with the officials that one jokingly threw a flag on defensive end Chris Rumph II for his attitude, causing everyone on the sideline to laugh as practice concluded.
Saints coach Kellen Moore said it was an "awesome" practice and called the effort spectacular. But was it actually pass inference? "It doesn't matter," Moore said with a smile.
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The Saints waived QB Hunter Dekkers and signed punter Kai Kroeger. Dekkers had not been able to get reps with three other QBs on the roster, and Kroeger will be competing with punters Matthew Hayball and James Burnip.
Spencer Rattler was the first-team quarterback, although he traded reps with rookie Tyler Shough at some points during practice. He had the first reps in the two-minute drills and spiked it on third down with three seconds left, but Moore chose to forego the Hail Mary attempt to avoid potential injuries.
Shough had a rough two-minute sequence: They started with an offensive holding penalty, a low snap on the next play was followed by a sack by Rumph, then a fumble on the next play.
Juwan Johnson participated in the individual portion of practice after leaving early with an injury on Wednesday
Some standout defensive plays in 11-on-11 were a Demario Davis pass breakup on a Rattler throw, a Shough interception (tipped by Rico Payton, caught by Nephi Sewell), a Haener sack by Jasheen Davis, an Alontae Taylor sack on Rattler and a Jordan Howden pick of Shough, with Howden making the catch in the end zone after Shough appeared to throw off his back foot
Some offensive highlights were a Shough touchdown throw to Tipton with Quincy Riley in coverage, and a Rattler touchdown throw to Rashid Shaheed
The team practiced inside today and was the most energy I've seen out of them all camp, which is saying a lot after a few days in pads. The team worked 2 minute to end practice and the defense was vehemently arguing their cases with the officials at practice 😂
— Katherine Terrell (@Kat_Terrell) July 31, 2025
Wednesday, July 30
The Saints were back in pads again on Wednesday, and Jake Haener was working as first-team quarterback, Spencer Rattler was the second-team quarterback, and Tyler Shough was the third-team quarterback. This meant that Shough, the rookie, got significantly less reps than the other two after a lengthy stint as the first-team quarterback on Monday.
Haener had one of his best plays of the day early in 11-on-11 drills with a big gain down the sideline to Chris Olave for a touchdown. Rattler had a big gain on a scramble and also a nice completion down the field to Mason Tipton.
Shough had three straight gains in 11-on-11 drills, completing a pass to Rashid Shaheed along the sideline. Shaheed took a hard hit and went to the ground, but held on. He then had a completion to Tipton and kept the ball himself on the final play of the segment for a would-be big gain if he had not stepped out of bounds.
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The Saints signed OT Jonathan Mendoza to a one-year deal.
Rookie CB Quincy Riley had his second pick of camp when he picked off Rattler for the second time. Rattler was looking for Bub Means.
Several injured players left practice including tight end Juwan Johnson, Rattler has still not played with the third team.
Charlie Smyth went 5-for-7 on field goal attempts, including one 63-yard attempt in a hurry-up situation, but made a 51-yarder.
Tuesday, July 29
The Saints had a light day on Tuesday, moving to the indoors for the first time for a short walk-through. Quarterback Spencer Rattler took his turn with the first-team offense, although coach Kellen Moore said that will not factor into the overall quarterback rotation since it was such a light day.
The Saints worked on two-minute and hurry up situations, including a hurry-up field goal scenario, and had a lot of special teams focus in the short practice. Moore said the idea of a light practice was for the players to recover after a tough practice the day before. The next two practices will be in pads.
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J.T. Gray returned to practice after leaving early on Monday. Coach Kellen Moore said Gray is week-to-week with a hamstring injury.
Saints RT Taliese Fuaga said the team was going bowling for a team activity on Tuesday.
DT Davon Godchaux, who is going into his ninth season, said: "This is the best training camp I've been a part of," and said he appreciated how Moore and the staff focused on recovery and trying to save the players' bodies. "I hope they continue to take care of us and we'll continue to give them good days once we're out on the field."
Monday, July 28
The Saints put full pads on for the first time on Day 5 of training camp and rotated Tyler Shough back to the first team in the quarterback competition. Shough got significant reps in 11-on-11 drills but had an uneven day, with several would-be sacks. His best play of the day came on a completion to Brandin Cooks.
"I think there's patience," Cooks said. "I think there's trust obviously from offensive line being able to gear down, give him a clean pocket and you got an opposite receiver that's taking the top off, a bunch of unselfish play, and at the end of the day he made a great throw."
Spencer Rattler, working with the second unit, had one of the best plays of the day when he found Rashid Shaheed deep downfield going up against rookie Quincy Riley down the sideline.
The need for Shaheed 💥 pic.twitter.com/BikIzqbiTK
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) July 28, 2025
Sunday, July 27
Spencer Rattler took his turn with the first team offense again on Sunday following a day off for the team on Saturday. All three quarterbacks -- Rattler, Tyler Shough and Jake Haener -- had their ups and downs on a day where several defenders got a chance to shine. Rattler was intercepted by rookie linebacker Danny Stutsman at the goal line while targeting Cedrick Wilson Jr. in 7-on-7 drills. In 11-on-11 red zone drills later in the practice, he completed a pass to tight end Juwan Johnson for a touchdown, and ran in for a touchdown himself two plays later.
Shough had two big gains in 11-on-11 drills when opting to carry the ball himself, and Haener stepped up into a throw that went to Bub Means for a touchdown during red zone work. In the Saints' final 7-on-7 session, which was completed indoors due to the heat, he was picked off by newly signed safety Julian Blackmon.
Friday, July 25
The quarterback rotation continued for a third day, with Jake Haener taking the first-team snaps. Spencer Rattler had previously gotten snaps with the first team in Practice 1 and rookie Tyler Shough got first-team snaps on the second. Haener admitted he didn't come in as the favorite to win the job in the three-man race when speaking to reporters Thursday, but he won't let that stop him. "When you're the underdog ... and your back is kind of up against the wall, that's when I play my best," Haener said.
Rattler made a good case for the play of the day while working with the second-team. He threw a deep pass to wide receiver Mason Tipton, who ran for about 40 yards into the end zone while being trailed by rookie Quincy Riley. Rattler, who threw an interception yesterday, completed all of his passes in both 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills.
Shough, working with the third-team, did not get as many reps as the first two days, which is not unusual for the rotation. His best pass came on a completion to tight end Juwan Johnson on a crossing route during 7-on-7 drills.
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Thursday, July 24
The defense won the second day of training camp in a red zone-focused practice.
Tyler Shough got first-team reps while Spencer Rattler worked with the second team. There were mistakes to go around, especially toward the end of practice, which saw two false starts with the second-team and then another one with the third team a minute later. Rattler threw the first interception of camp, but followed it up by running in for a touchdown. Shough had to throw away a few passes in the end zone but finished with a touchdown to Rashid Shaheed, and Jake Haener had a highlight throw to Juwan Johnson in the end zone in 7-on-7 drills with the third team.
Wednesday, July 23
Second-year quarterback Spencer Rattler took the snaps with the first team during the team's first practice, but expect him to rotate with rookie Tyler Shough.
"Spencer obviously took ... all the ones today. Tyler will take them tomorrow and we'll continue to rotate all these guys," Saints coach Kellen Moore said Wednesday.
This is the first true quarterback competition for the Saints since Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston competed in 2021. Moore said he does not feel a rush to define a starter right away.
"Obviously the sooner you make a decision, the sooner you can focus in on certain personnel groups and consistencies. But we'll let the process take as long as it needs to," he said.
The Saints signed OT Jonathan Mendoza to a one-year deal.
Rookie CB Quincy Riley had his second pick of camp when he picked off Rattler for the second time. Rattler was looking for Bub Means.
Several injured players left practice, including tight end Juwan Johnson.
Rattler has still not played with the third team.
Charlie Smyth went 5/7 on field goal attempts. He missed a 63-yard attempt in a hurry-up situation but made a 51-yarder.
J.T. Gray returned to practice after leaving early on Monday. Moore said Gray is week to week with a hamstring injury.
Saints RT Taliese Fuaga said the team was going bowling for a team activity on Tuesday.
DT Davon Godchaux, who is going into his ninth season, said, "This is the best training camp I've been a part of," and appreciated how Moore and the staff focused on recovery and trying to save the players' bodies. "I hope they continue to take care of us and we'll continue to give them good days once we're out on the field."
Foster Moreau (knee) was working off to the side during practice. Taysom Hill also did work off to the side.
Demario Davis returned to practice after an excused absence on Sunday.
Blake Grupe made all five of his field goals, including one of at least 50 yards. He has missed only one field goal during camp, which occurred during a rain shower.
Coach Kellen Moore said he incorporated TV timeouts into practice, partially to have water breaks in the heat but also as a way to getting ready for what a game will be like. "There are TV timeouts in games ... You have to train your body to sit there for two or three, four minutes, kind of bring it back down and you got to bring yourself back up for the next period. So it's creating a game-like environment as well."
Safety Julian Blackmon said that he told defensive coordinator Brandon Staley that his first interception of camp Sunday was for him after Staley yelled "I've waited five years for this," referencing Staley's attempts to draft Blackmon in 2020 when he was the Rams' DC.
Taysom Hill was seen working off to the side for the first time since injuring his knee last December, while Foster Moreau (knee) watched practice. Demario Davis was excused from practice and was not present.
Charlie Smyth went 3 of 5 in his kicking session and is 5 of 10 total for training camp. He has been rotating days with veteran Blake Grupe.
The Saints were in shells on Sunday and will be in full pads for the first time on Monday
Rest days for several vets: The Saints are heavily leaning into director of sports science Ted Rath's system. Cameron Jordan, Alvin Kamara, Erik McCoy, Brandin Cooks and Davon Godchaux all got rest days. Will Clapp subbed in for McCoy as the first-team center.
Return of Tipton: He made the team last year with an excellent camp but caught only 14 passes in the regular season. He had a good day, catching passes from all three quarterbacks and making some highlight plays.
Kicker takeover: Blake Grupe took over kicking duties, going 4 of 5 while missing one 49-yarder that occurred during a light rainshower.
It was a surprisingly poor showing from kicker Charlie Smyth, who missed 3-of-5 attempts. Smyth, a second-year player who joined the team via the International Player Pathway last year, is competing with veteran Blake Grupe.
The team saw its first fight of camp when Brandin Cooks ended up in the middle of a scrum that grew in size as more players rushed in to break it up. The skirmish ended quickly with no players thrown out of practice.
Recently signed players safety Julian Blackmon and defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard were both at camp and participating.
Practice lasted for about an hour as the team ramps up camp. Moore said this is the shortest practice the team will have and he expects a similar shorter practice on Thursday.
Taysom Hill and Foster Moreau were the only players not participating, as they will begin camp on the physically unable to perform list. Tyrann Mathieu was also not present after announcing his retirement yesterday.