Sometimes, life is bigger than football. New Orleans Saints backup quarterback Jake Haener didn't let cancer surgery slow him down in their 16-14 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday.
The second-year signal-caller was diagnosed with skin cancer in late July, and the resulting surgery put 32 stitches in his face. They will be removed on Monday. After the victory, Haener brushed off the seriousness of the situation, via Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football.
“Not bad for a guy with a weak arm.”
Haener, a 2023 fourth-round pick is being challenged for the No. 2 QB job by Spencer Rattler. The Saints used a fifth-round selection on Rattler and the two backups are competing to make the team's final 53-man roster.
In the Saints preseason opener, Rattler played in five drives, including what was the game-winning fourth-quarter drive, completing 9-of-17 passes for 70 yards. Haener had the slight edge in the box score, passing for 107 yards on 9-of-13 passes. A 37-yard field goal just before time expired sealed a two-point win.
Who will win Saints' No. 2 quarterback job?
If this is Haener's last hurrah with the Saints, he's going out in style, per Luke Johnson of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
“I’m a competitive dude,” Haener said. “I play my ass off every step of the way, even when I’m getting hit and things are tough, I’m going to bring that energy because my team needs it, right? There needs to be that ‘X’ factor I think when you’re playing quarterback. That’s always how I’ve played, and I’m not going to change.”
Haener certainly is competitive and thinks he isn't just competing for the No. 2 job. He believes he's competing to be Derek Carr's heir-apparent in Saints training camp.
Rattler's journey hasn't been easy either. He was a Heisman favorite back in 2021 yet transferred away from Oklahoma after losing his starting spot to Caleb Williams. After landing at South Carolina, his star lost some luster. The Gamecocks aren't quite as blessed to compete among the college football bluebloods. Rattler and Dennis Allen believe all the quarterbacks, Carr, Haener and Rattler, are competing to start.
“We’re dogging it out for that ‘two’ spot, right?” Haener told Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports. “Both of us really want it bad. We both really want to have that opportunity. I don’t like to try to predict the future, but Derek’s getting older. That two spot … it gives you an upward track on having the opportunity one day to potentially have that opportunity to be the starter.”
What's at stake during Saints training camp and preseason
While Rattler is known more for his gunslinger style of play, Haener is more measured. Last offseason, he was even compared to Drew Brees. Hyperbolic as such comparisons seem in hindsight, Haener is less known for his arm talent. Like Brees, Haener is blessed with great vision, an ability to process defenses and accuracy.
While the coach speak and hopeful statements through the media make for good stories. Most NFL executives understand the stakes.
“You can spend a late-round pick on a quarterback every year, just rolling the dice,” one executive told Yahoo Sports. “You're not looking at any of those guys before they [develop] and saying, ‘This guy's going to be the future.’”
Both quarterbacks are looking to maximize every opportunity. The Saints' preseason continues on Sunday, August 18, at 8:00 p.m. EST, when New Orleans plays San Francisco on the road.
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