Jake Haener’s bid to win the starting quarterback job in New Orleans hit a snag this week when he suffered an oblique strain that will keep him out for the rest of the offseason program in New Orleans.
Saints head coach Kellen Moore said that the missed time won’t be a fatal blow to Haener’s chances of beating out Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough for the top job.
“No one wants to miss time, obviously,” Moore said at a press conference. “No one wants to miss time, but for Jake and his situation there’s still a teaching component, a mental component, that he’s capitalized on. He’s right there with the QBs, he’ll be there through the whole offseason process. I don’t think it’s a drastic missed opportunity. He’ll have plenty of opportunities as we go into training camp to continue to build.”
The Saints also have undrafted rookie Hunter Dekkers on the roster and Moore said bringing in another veteran is “something we’ll continue to evaluate.” For now, Rattler and Shough are splitting the first-team reps at Saints practices.