With Derek Carr injured and Jake Haener still suspended, the New Orleans Saints could use another quarterback to round out the depth chart. Let’s not play dumb: Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill are going to stay on top and do their best to lead this team while Carr is on the mend. They aren’t going to find a new starter.
But it’s worth adding another passer to the practice squad to at least see the team through their next three games until Haener is reinstated, and maybe longer until Carr is cleared to return (if he’ll even be sidelined that long; right now, we just don’t know).
Buy Saints TicketsDepth is important, and these are four realistic options:
Harrison Frost
Frost was one of two quarterbacks at rookie minicamp this spring — the other was Jake Haener. The former Mercer and West Georgia quarterback signed with the XFL’s Seattle Sea Dragons but didn’t appear in any games earlier this year, and he currently isn’t with a team. If the Saints just want to add someone who can help run drills at practice, he could make sense, but they won’t be asking him to go into games any time soon.
Clayton Thorson
Thorson tried out for the Saints in 2021 so he’s obviously been on their radar, though he hasn’t had many NFL opportunities lately. The New York Giants didn’t re-sign him when his practice squad contract ended in 2022. He went on to play for the USFL’s Houston Gamblers and led the league in passing touchdowns prior to a season-ending elbow injury in 2022. He’s currently a free agent.
Jake Luton
The mechanics of acquiring Luton mean he’s probably the least-likely option here. He’s currently on the Carolina Panthers practice squad and was elevated for their Week 3 road game with the Seattle Seahawks while Bryce Young rested an ankle injury, so they want to keep him. The Saints would have to sign him to their 53-man roster and keep him there for several weeks to get him and it’s unclear whether that view is worth the climb for them. Still, Luton spent the 2022 season on their practice squad and he knows the offense.
Ian Book
Dennis Allen wasted no time in jettisoning Sean Payton’s former fourth-round draft pick, but maybe both sides are desperate enough to run it back, even if only for a few weeks. Book spent a week on the New England Patriots practice squad recently but is currently a free agent. If the Saints just want someone who knows the offense to sit in on meetings for a few weeks, Book might be their guy, but it’s obvious he can’t be expected to start any games.
