The New Orleans Saints have an interesting situation at the quarterback position heading into the 2023 NFL season, with veteran newcomer Derek Carr already being named the starter as expected and two viable veterans sitting behind him in Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill.
Along with Winston and Hill, the Saints drafted quarterback Jake Haener out of Fresno State, which is ironically Carr’s former college, in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
With so many quarterbacks on the roster, it was an interesting and somewhat head-scratching move for the Saints, who are moving forward with Carr as their long-term starter.
As if the situation wasn’t strange enough in the quarterback room in New Orleans, Haener has now been suspended for the first six games of his rookie season, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Statement from #Saints rookie QB Jake Haener on his six-game suspension for violating the PED policy: pic.twitter.com/7A31mErqjd
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 6, 2023
This is not how a player, especially one at the quarterback position sitting at fourth on the depth chart, wants to start an NFL career.
Even though it would take a lot of injuries over the course of the first six games to get him in the game, Haener clearly isn’t getting off on the right foot in New Orleans and will have a giant hill to climb to get back in the team’s good graces.
Obviously, the Saints see something in Haener they like, or they wouldn’t use such a high pick on him, but this definitely doesn’t help assure the team that they made the right choice.
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