The New Orleans Saints have two veteran quarterbacks atop their depth chart heading into Week 1 with Derek Carr starting and Jameis Winston backing him up.
Head coach Dennis Allen and Co. are not expecting rookie fourth-round pick Jake Haener from Fresno State to see the field at all.
Wednesday’s news could add another layer to this. The NFL announced that it has suspended the rookie signal caller for the first six games of the 2023 season for violating its policy against performance enhancing drugs.
“Jake Haener of the Saints has been suspended without pay for the first six games of the 2023 regular season for violating the NFL Policy on Performance-Enhancing Substances,” NFL statement on the Jake Haener suspension.
It is not yet known what type of illegal substances Haener allegedly used. But to start off his NFL career with a six-game suspension is not great.
New Orleans signed Carr to a four-year, $150 million contract back in March, weeks before it opted to select Haener 127th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.
The 6-foot-1 California native put up a great final two seasons with Fresno State after transferring from Washington. That two-year span saw him tally 53 touchdown passes compared to 12 interceptions. He was also a standout during the Senior Bowl ahead of the annual draft.
Related: Ranking New Orleans Saints’ Derek Carr among NFL’s starting QBs
New Orleans Saints quarterback options following Jake Haener suspension
New Orleans could very well roll with two natural quarterbacks on its 53-man roster. In this scenario, a jack-of-all-trades in Taysom Hill would be the emergency behind Carr and Winston. He’s going to be active on game days anyway.
A veteran of nine NFL seasons, Carr has missed a total of zero games to injury over the past five years. He’s as reliable as it gets from that standpoint.
Though, there is a chance that the Saints add a quarterback to their 17-man practice squad ahead of Week 1. They don’t currently have one taking up a roster spot in that regard.