It became clear Jake Haener had drifted out of the quarterback competition, if he was every truly in the running. The New Orleans Saints surprisingly waived Haener Tuesday morning, leaving Tyler Shough and Spencer Rattler as the only quarterbacks on the roster.
Those guys are obvious locks to make the team, and we thought Haener was a lock too. The team typically keeps three quarterbacks on the roster. ESPN's Katherine Terrell reported Haener has a practice squad spot waiting on him if he clears waivers.
The preseason wasn't kind to Haener. Kellen Moore always mentioned him in the quarterback battle conversations, but it always felt like Haener had to be perfect to make up ground in the battle. In his first drive of the preseason, Haener threw an interception. Then, he didn't play at all in the second preseason game.
Jake Haener never lived up to low expectations
When you're drafted in the fourth round as a quarterback, most times your perceived ceiling is being a backup quarterback. There are of course exceptions to the rule, but if you draft a mid-to-late round quarterback and he becomes a solid backup, the team is ok with that.
Getting waived after just two seasons shows that's not in the cards for Haener in New Orleans. The Saints drafting two quarterbacks with higher ceilings in the ensuing drafts made it difficult for Haener to truly grow into the role.
Derek Carr's injury exposed that Haener may have been the second active quarterback, but he was never the Saints true backup or secondary option. That was Spencer Rattler, and it will be either Rattler or Shough this year. It'll be interesting to see if another team gives Haener an opportunity to be a long-term backup. That just wasn't going to be his role with the Saints.
At this point, the only thing to watch for is to see if he clears waivers and if he wants to return to the practice squad. It shouldn't be viewed as a foregone conclusion that Haener makes it through waivers. Some team could be intrigued by him. If he does clear waivers, Haener may opt for a fresh start elsewhere, and it'd be hard to blame him.