The New Orleans Saints came into this offseason with a void at the backup quarterback position, when Jameis Winston elected to sign with the Cleveland Browns. It was reported that the team did make an effort to sign veteran Joe Flacco who would’ve served that role well, but he also decided to take his talents elsewhere.
After signing quarterback Nathan Peterman and Kellen Mond before drafting Spencer Rattler, it was clear that the pressure of filling this role was on a specific someone in that room. Jake Haener was on notice.
And he just might be living up to those expectations.
Haener, last year’s fourth-round pick, put on a stellar performance at Day 1 of organized team activities on Tuesday. Haener spent the day mostly with the second-string offense, completing a couple of highlight throws to receivers A.T. Perry and Chris Olave. He also had a nice connection with rookie tight end Dallin Holker.
It was reported earlier in the offseason that there is a strong belief in Haener’s abilities when it comes to the Saints front office. Haener also spent a good amount of time with former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden this offseason in an attempt to absorb knowledge from the offensive guru.
Many of us discounted Haener with the excitement behind Rattler, but we might just want to pump the brakes and see if Haener can build on this. There are many months ahead, and these are only unpadded practices in May, but he’s off to an impressive start.
