How will Jake Haener perform against the Commanders in Week 15?
The season isn’t necessarily over for the injured Derek Carr, but the New Orleans Saints signed another quarterback just in case. And the team made a Week 15 decision at the position, according to neworleans.football.
Jake Haener will be handed the reigns. A fourth-round pick in the 2023 draft, Haener will make his first-ever NFL start. This year, Haener has completed 14 of 29 passes for 177 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions.
Saints QB Jake Haener will start vs. Commanders
Saints head coach Darren Rizzi said Haener and Spencer Rattler competed for the starting spot, according to The New Orleans Times-Picayune via nbcsports.com.
“They’re both guys that throw the ball well,” Rizzi said. “They’re both similar size guys, athletic ability is very similar. There’ll be some nuances in the game plan, depending on which guy starts, naturally. But it’s not going to be this wholesale deal.”
Rattler has three starts under his belt, but the team lost in blowout fashion against Tampa Bay (51-27), Denver (33-10) and the Chargers (26-8). Rattler completed 59 of 99 passes for 571 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
Rizzi said the staff helped in the decision, according to saintswire.com.
“We all met, staff-wise,” Rizzi said. “Both Jake and Spencer bring certain attributes to the table. They’re very similar in a lot of ways, so game-plan-wise, it doesn’t change much.”
Also, Rizzi stated he wanted the decision to be firm, according to saintswire.com.
“I think this is new ground, if you will, so we’re going to press the reset button here, it’s a clean slate, and make a decision,” Rizzi said. “We’re going to kind of put it all on the table and see what we feel. But I think both guys, I go back there purposefully with the look squad every week, and Jake and Spencer both have really done a great job at practice. So I think both guys bring positivity to the table.
“I’m not trying to be a fence-sitter here. I think both guys give us a chance to win.”
