A week after being left off the New Orleans Saints 53-man roster, quarterback Jake Haener is back on it.
Haener, who'd returned to the club on the practice squad after the Saints waived him last week, was signed back to the active roster Tuesday afternoon. He takes the spot the Saints created by releasing longtime special teams standout J.T. Gray.
A fourth-round pick of the Saints in 2023, Haener has appeared in eight games with one start, completing 46.2 % of his passes while totaling 226 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
He opened training camp this year as part of a three-man competition for the starting quarterback job, but while New Orleans never officially ruled him out prior to his release, his practice and preseason snaps dramatically decreased as the season neared.
Spencer Rattler beat out rookie quarterback Tyler Shough for the starting quarterback job.
New Orleans also signed linebacker Eku Leota and receiver Tommy Mellott to its practice squad, giving it the full allotment of 17 players.
Mellott is a former college quarterback whom the Las Vegas Raiders selected in the sixth round of the draft this spring. He was a highly productive player at Montana State, accounting for 3,523 rushing yards, 5,810 passing yards and 96 total touchdowns in his college career. He won the Walter Payton Award last season, the FCS equivalent to the Heisman Trophy.
Leota has appeared in 11 games during the last two seasons with the Carolina Panthers and Pittsburgh Steelers, recording one sack, three tackles for loss and nine tackles in his career.