Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Jake Haener has landed with the New York Giants, giving him another shot to stick around in the NFL after spending time with the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this offseason.
NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo first reported the move. Haener, a 2023 fourth-round pick, is now on his second team since leaving New Orleans. A reunion with the Saints never materialized, but his new stop in New York does create a familiar link: Jameis Winston is already in the Giants’ quarterback room as the backup.
That gives the Giants two former Saints quarterbacks as they begin their first year under John Harbaugh. Whether that is by design or just a coincidence, it also mirrors a little bit of what New Orleans is sorting through on its own with Tyler Shough.
For the Saints, Haener’s latest move is another reminder of how much has changed at quarterback since 2023.
When Haener was drafted, Derek Carr was still leading the offense, and at the time that looked like the start of something stable. Instead, the years that followed brought the kind of swings that defined a messy era for the franchise. There were lows, there were flashes, and there were moments that had the fan base riding a brutal emotional loop.
That stretch included everything from a player getting caught on a hot mic nearly cursing out another to legitimate Super Bowl conversations. By 2025, it was all wiped clean when Carr suddenly retired.
From there, New Orleans had to pivot fast. The team was left with only two young quarterbacks, Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough, and the way things played out ended up giving the Saints a path forward.
Now, New Orleans likely has its franchise quarterback in Shough, something the organization has been chasing since 2023, when it signed and drafted a quarterback in the same offseason. After all the chaos, the Saints finally appear to have landed on a new direction - even if the journey there was a wild one.
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