Tyler Shough injury history: Did Saints make huge mistake in drafting risk-prone QB?

The New Orleans Saints selected Tyler Shough with the 40th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Louisville Cardinals product had 3,195 passing yards, 23 touchdowns and six interceptions in 12 games during the 2024 campaign.

The Saints took notice of his pocket passing ability and decided to draft him as a backup and potential successor to starting quarterback Derek Carr. While Shough excelled in the recently concluded college football season, questions remain about his extensive injury history.

With the draft now in the rearview mirror, let's examine Shough's collegiate injury record.

Tyler Shough's injury history

Tyler Shough started his college career with the Oregon Ducks, and he was Justin Herbert's backup during his redshirt freshman campaign. He did get the chance to start in 2020, but had to endure a mixed final campaign with the Ducks.

Shough entered the transfer portal at the end of the 2020 season, and he joined the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Shough was the team's incumbent starter, but injuries derailed his time with the Red Raiders.

In the 2021 campaign, Shough put up decent stats with Texas Tech but suffered a broken left collarbone versus the Texas Longhorns. The injury was serious enough to rule him out of action for the rest of the campaign.

In the 2022 regular season, Shough beat out Donovan Smith for the starting job. However, Shough suffered a left shoulder injury in the first game of the season against Murray State. He subsequently missed a couple of games. He came back and re-injured the same collarbone that he hurt in the 2021 campaign. He ended up playing seven games in his second year with the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Shough once again started the 2023 campaign as the Texas Tech starting quarterback. He posted a 1-3 record before getting hurt in a Week 4 game against West Virginia. After the game, it was reported that the pocket passer broke his fibula and was set to miss the rest of the regular season. He decided to enter the transfer portal on November 20, 2023.

Injuries limited Shough to playing just 15 games during his time with the Red Raiders. He opted to take his talents to the Louisville Cardinals for the 2024 college football season.

Shough thrived in the Louisville Cardinals system and enjoyed an injury-free campaign for the first time since his Oregon backup days. He performed so well for the Cardinals that he was selected in Round 2 by the New Orleans Saints.

Next up is a training camp battle with Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener in order to start on Week 1.