The New Orleans Saints have their quarterback for Week 15. Interim head coach Darren Rizzi has named Jake Haener as their starter as they host the Washington Commanders on Sunday, according to Nick Underhill of New Orleans.Football. Rizzi informed Haener, along with the rest of the quarterbacks on the roster, of the decision on Thursday afternoon.
This decision comes in the aftermath of starting quarterback Derek Carr suffering a significant fracture in his non-throwing hand during last week’s win over the New York Giants, along with being placed in concussion protocol. Haener came in following Carr’s injury in the fourth quarter, but did not attempt a pass.
This will be Haener’s first career start after initially entering the league as a fourth-round draft choice of the Saints in 2023 out of Fresno State. However, he has appeared in seven games this season and completed 14 of his 29 pass attempts for 177 yards and a touchdown.
Haener gets the nod over rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler, who started three games earlier this season when Carr was injured. New Orleans went 0-3 during Rattler’s stretch as the starter, and the fifth-round pick out of South Carolina completed 59.6% of his passes for 571 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions over that stretch. He also rushed for 61 yards.
With Carr’s status for the rest of the season up in the air, it will be interesting to see if Haener can perform well enough to possibly secure the starting job for the final four weeks of the regular season.
