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• Saints' Jake Haener: Logs one subpar start in 2024

  01/13/2025 • By RotoWire

  Haener completed 18 of 39 passes for 226 yards with one touchdown and one interception during eight regular-season appearances for the Saints in 2024. He also recorded 11 rushing attempts for 22 yards. Haener failed to impress during any of his significant opportunities this season. The second-year quarterback came in for mop-up duty during back-to-back blowouts in Week 1 and Week 2, and he stepped in when QB1 Derek Carr suffered an oblique injury Week 5. But, the Saints started rookie Spencer Rattler when Carr missed the following three games. Haener didn't get his first chance to start until the Week 15 loss to the Commanders, in which he was benched after completing four of 10 passes for 39 yards and an interception in the first half. Haener never saw the field again for the rest of the season, as New Orleans started Rattler for the final three games. In two seasons, Haener has thrown just one touchdown and has passed for over 100 yards once. The Saints don't appear to have a surefire long-term plan at quarterback after back-to-back underwhelming seasons with the 33-year-old Carr. Given Haener's apparent lack of growth and production, it's unlikely he'll be anything more than a QB2, or possibly even QB3, for the Saints moving forward.

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• Saints' Jake Haener: Benched early in loss Sunday

  12/15/2024 • By RotoWire

  Haener completed four of 10 passes for 49 yards and one interception during Sunday's 20-19 loss against Washington. He also rushed once for seven yards. Haener was making his first career start in place of injured signal-caller Derek Carr, who suffered a concussion and hand fracture during last week's win over the Giants. However, the second-year quarterback struggled against the Commanders' middling defense and tossed an interception during the first half. This led New Orleans to bench Haener for rookie Spencer Rattler coming out of halftime. The Saints went on four scoring drives in the second half and came up just short on a last-second two-point conversion attempt that would have won the game. Rattler went 10-for-21 for 135 yards and a touchdown during the second half. Given each quarterback's performance Sunday, it's likely that Rattler get the start ahead of Haener for next week's contest against the Packers on Monday, Dec. 23.

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• Saints' Jake Haener: Named as Week 15 starter

  12/13/2024 • By RotoWire

  Saints coach Darren Rizzi said Friday that Haener will start Sunday's game against the Commanders. Rizzi hinted at the outcome a day earlier, choosing Haener over Spencer Rattler while Derek Carr recovers from a concussion and hand fracture. The Saints hope to get Carr back within the next few weeks, but it won't be surprising if Haener ends up making multiple starts in an injury-riddled offense that's currently without WR Chris Olave (concussion), WR Rashid Shaheed (knee) and TE Taysom Hill (knee).

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• Saints' Jake Haener: Won't start Week 6

  10/10/2024 • By RotoWire

  Haener is slated to remain the Saints' No. 2 quarterback for Sunday's game against the Buccaneers with head coach Dennis Allen announcing Wednesday that rookie Spencer Rattler will start the Week 6 contest in place of the injured Derek Carr (oblique), Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com reports. Haener has served as the Saints' top backup all season while Rattler has been inactive as the No. 3 quarterback in each of the team's first five games, but the fifth-round pick out of South Carolina will leapfrog Haener on the depth chart with Carr set to miss at least one start. After Carr was injured in Monday's loss to the Chiefs, Haener directed the offense for the final drive of the night but didn't impress in his limited action, completing two of seven pass attempts for 17 yards and carrying twice for 11 yards. Other than stating that Rattler gives the Saints the best chance to win, Allen declined to provide many specifics regarding why the rookie was chosen to start over Haener, who is only a year older than Rattler and was actually drafted higher (fourth-round choice in 2023).

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• Saints' Jake Haener: Steps in for injured Carr

  10/08/2024 • By RotoWire

  Haener entered Monday's 26-13 loss to the Chiefs in the fourth quarter in relief of injured starter Derek Carr (oblique) and completed two of seven pass attempts for 17 yards while adding 11 yards on two carries. Carr tweaked his oblique on an incomplete fourth-down pass attempt with 9:32 remaining in the fourth quarter and didn't return for the Saints' final drive of the night, with Haener getting pressed into duty in his stead. Haener's prior two NFL regular-season appearances had come at the tail end of blowouts, but the 2023 fourth-round pick saw his first action in a more competitive setting Monday. Carr will likely undergo further testing on his oblique in the coming days before the Saints have a better feel for his status heading into their Week 6 game against the Buccaneers on Sunday, but if Carr is forced to miss that contest, Haener would presumably be in line for his first career start.

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