Saints’ Jake Haener Suffers Oblique Strain

The Saints’ quarterback competition will not be conducted at full strength for the remainder of the spring. Jake Haener suffered an oblique strain at the end of yesterday’s practice, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.

The injury is likely to keep Haener sidelined for a number of weeks, Schefter adds. The 26-year-old is thus likely to miss the remainder of OTAs. He is expected to return in time for the start of training camp, however. Nevertheless, missed practices of any kind will of course hinder Haener’s development and his hurt his chances of winning the Saints’ starting job.

In the wake of Derek Carr‘s retirement, it became clear New Orleans would not look to add a veteran passer but rather hold an open competition between the team’s remaining options. That list consists of Haener, Spencer Rattler and second-round rookie Tyler Shough. The latter two will continue sharing reps during OTAs in advance of training camp.

Haener’s rookie campaign began with a six-game PED suspension and he did not see the field upon returning to the lineup. The 2023 fourth-rounder made just one start last year after Carr went down for the season. Neither Haener nor Rattler (who made six starts to close out the campaign) managed to record a win while filling in for the Pro Bowler. Improvement will be sought out under new head coach Kellen Moore as New Orleans aims to avoid the injury issues of last year on offense.

Shough enters the NFL with seven years of college experience, and he is one year older than Rattler. That could prove to be advantageous (to an extent) over the coming months, although plenty of time remains for a frontrunner for the Week 1 start to emerge. That responsibility could still fall to Haener, but for now his attention will turn to recovery.