New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis and head coach Kellen Moore held a joint press conference on Wednesday to wrap up the 2025 season. For roughly 50 minutes, they took questions from the local media on several topics and gave a little insight on their plans for the immediate future.
Here are some important quotes and key statements from yesterday’s presser:
Mickey Loomis on if quarterback Tyler Shough’s success was surprising:
“I don’t know that there’s anything surprising for us, we thought a lot of him going into the draft, collectively. So, we felt like this guy’s got a chance to be a real good quarterback in the league and that’s why we drafted him. So, I don’t think surprising is the right word. He probably progressed a little faster than maybe we expected but I think our coaches did a great job with him, I think our players embraced his opportunity and obviously, the player himself embraced the opportunity.”
Kellen Moore on Tyler Shough’s performance, cementing he’s the starting QB moving forward:
“We feel great with Tyler. Tyler has done an awesome job through this entire process, he’s gotten a ton better, taken advantage of a bunch of opportunities and we’re excited to have a full offseason to build on.”
Mickey Loomis on Kellen Moore’s first season as head coach:
“I think he did an excellent job and under some really difficult circumstances. We hired Kellen under a set of circumstances relative to the quarterback and then that changed dramatically and he did not bat an eye. He just was ok, what’s the next step that we have to do and how do we attack it? That was impressive right from the beginning. Then during the course of the season, obviously, there are circumstances and things that come up during the course of the year that you can think your prepared for, but you’re really not because you haven’t been put in that position and I think in virtual every case, he handled it really well and that’s been exciting to see.“
Mickey Loomis on the veterans who will become free agents this year:
“There is a process we go through at the end of the season; it’s an evaluation and then a determination Do they want to come back? Do we want them back? Even after that there are a lot of variables. What’s the contract situation? What’s the timeline? There are just too many variables for me to give you a definite answer on any of that but look, I’m excited to hear when those guys declare they want to be back here and I would say that on the surface, we definitely want them back but there are so many variables that exist, I just can’t answer that right now.”
Mickey Loomis on the state of the Saints salary cap:
“Obviously, over the last two or three years, those things that we have to do to get under the cap have diminished. This will be the lightest work that Khai has had to do over the last couple of years and that’s a good feeling.”
Mickey Loomis on their current outlook for the 2026 NFL Draft:
“I think we’re going to have an opportunity to impact our team, and I’m excited about the draft class that’s coming up. Discussions I’ve had with Jeff and his staff, there’s a lot of players that will fit us at a lot of different positions, so I’m excited about that. I think the depth of this draft class right now looks pretty good and I think we’re going to be in a position to kind of take the best player that’s available that can impact our team. As opposed to do we have to have this position or that position. Obviously, there will be positions that we prefer, but I don’t think we’re going to be in a position of where we have to get this particular position.”
Mickey Loomis on requesting to play in the Hall of Fame game if Drew Brees gets in as expected:
“We’ve thought about that, obviously. I don’t want to just assume that he’s going to get in the Hall of Fame, but yeah, I think that it would be a good thing for a team to experience that whole experience of the Hall of Fame is really good for anyone involved in football and anyone who is a fan of football. And the fact that if Drew gets in, I think it would be a great thing for us to play in that game.”
Moore and Loomis said that the coaching staff will get the next 10 days off and after the brief break, they will start the evaluation process of players and then start to generate their offseason plans.
So, while the 2025 season is over, the work for the Saints never stops. Here are some important upcoming events that the Saints will have their eyes on: The Senior Bowl at the end of January, NFL combine in February, the start of free agency in March and of course, the NFL Draft in April.
As always, Canal Street Chronicles will keep you updated on all the latest Saints news and information.
