Daniel Cormier on Saints QB situation: 'We cannot have Tyler Shough start'

Former two-weight UFC champion Daniel Cormier is a giant New Orleans Saints fan, but not one of Tyler Shough. The rookie quarterback could end up being the front-runner for the starting quarterback job in 2025.

While watching the draft with his kids, it seemed like the Cormier family wanted Shedeur Sanders over Shough. The QB out of Louisville received high reviews coming in, but other than Cam Ward, Shough nor other quarterbacks were seen as immediate franchise changers.

While promoting the UFC’s next season of The Ultimate Fighter, where Cormier is coaching against former UFC star Chael Sonnen, his current podcast co-host, Cormier was asked about Shough and the Saints. If you’re the QB, you might want to turn away! 

“Okay, so let me just say this really quick,” Cormier said on First Take. “We’re doing the draft, and the Saints recently have done some questionable things. So my son is watching. He goes, ‘We just drafted a seventh year dude.’ We love Shedeur Sanders because the kids love Shedeur. He goes, ‘My day can’t get any worse.’ I was like, oh, man, you’re going through and watching the NFL Draft. I don’t know what we should do, but I just know that we should not have that kid Shough starting at quarterback, we cannot have Shough start at quarterback.”

Shough, along with Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener, will compete for the job in New Orleans. It comes on the heels of Derek Carr’s retirement due to a shoulder injury. Safe to say, there’s not much experience in the room at the moment, hence Cormier’s hesitation.

“That’s all you can ask for is an opportunity, at any position,” Shough said, via the team’s website. “And I’m going to treat it the same way, as if whoever is on the roster, I’ve got to continue to grow and get better and do my best to elevate the QB room and the team. For me, I was going to come in regardless of him being here or not and try and continue to grow.

“I think he’s been such a high-level player for so long, I think it would be a great opportunity to learn from him. It’s also a great opportunity to grow myself and be on this team with a lot of great coaches and guys on the team that we have already. I’m just excited for what’s (next) and the rest of our offseason.”

Shough played seven years of college football, starting at Oregon in 2018 as a backup to Justin Herbert before three years at Texas Tech from 2021-24. However, he flourished at Louisville in 2024, throwing for 3,195 yards and 23 touchdowns, along with six interceptions, to become one of the more interesting quarterback prospects in the draft. At age 25, he’s a year older than Rattler.