The Giants moved quickly Saturday to stabilize a quarterback room that suddenly looks thin after Jaxson Dart was ruled out for the rest of the season in Week 2.
With a trip to face the Tennessee Titans coming this weekend, New York signed practice squad quarterback Jake Haener to the active roster, setting him up to back up Jameis Winston, who is expected to take over as the starter.
Haener already has a little familiarity with the Giants’ offense and personnel from preseason work this year. He appeared in two preseason games for New York and completed 9 of 10 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown.
The move also brings a quarterback with actual NFL game experience into the mix. Haener spent 2024 with the New Orleans Saints, where he played in eight games and made one start. That season, he finished 18 of 39 for 226 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
His lone start came in a 20-19 loss to the Commanders, and it was a rough afternoon from the opening snaps. Haener went 4 of 10 for 49 yards and threw an interception before being benched.
Now he’ll get a chance to sit behind Winston and wait. Winston’s first relief appearance for the Giants in Week 2 didn’t provide much confidence, either. New York lost 28-6, and Winston went 11 of 27 for 111 yards with an interception.
If Winston can’t clean things up, Haener may not be waiting long for his next shot.
In Other News...
Saints Fans Have Every Reason To Hate This Tyler Shough Ruling
The Saints had another rough Week 3 finish against the Raiders, and one sequence involving Tyler Shough has only added to the frustration. The NFL upheld the ruling on the field, saying Shough lost control of the ball before his arm started moving forward, leaving the play as a fumble and not an incomplete pass.
For Saints fans, the irritation is obvious because the league handled a similar-looking situation differently in Week 1 when Jared Goff was involved. NFL vice president of instant replay Mark Butterworth explained why the two plays were separated, but the explanation is unlikely to make New Orleans feel any better about how the call broke in a game already going the wrong way. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Collapse Came Down To Tyler Shough And One Brutal Call
The Saints had their best early footing under Kellen Moore on Sunday, jumping ahead after the first quarter and giving themselves a chance to carry that edge into a needed win over the Raiders. Instead, the game unraveled late in a 35-27 loss, with New Orleans giving the ball away four times in the fourth quarter and watching a promising night slip into a frustrating collapse.
Tyler Shough was at the center of it, with multiple turnovers and a strip that led to one of the games most contentious moments, when Las Vegas came away with the fumble recovery. A late Juwan Johnson fumble only deepened the damage as the Raiders kept answering with offense, leaving the Saints to sort through how a game they once controlled turned so quickly in the final period. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Fans Have Every Reason To Be Furious Over This Replay Ruling
The Saints already had plenty to argue about during their game against the Raiders, and the replay decision only deepened the frustration. Adrian Hills crew drew heat for a series of controversial calls against New Orleans, including multiple penalties on the defense, but the play that really stuck with fans was a quarterback drop that ended with the Raiders coming away with the ball.
NFL vice president of instant replay Mark Butterworth upheld the ruling after review, saying the quarterback lost control before his arm came forward. The problem for New Orleans is that the explanation landed differently than another similar play earlier this season, when the league ruled it an incomplete pass, leaving the Saints and their fans to wonder why a key judgment can look so different from one week to the next. [Read more 🡒]