New Orleans Saints backup quarterback Jake Haener started off his media availability on Thursday with the typical question and answer segment. He talked about his difference in mindset this year compared to his rookie season last year, and he also walked reporters through an impressive pass completion to receiver Rashid Shaheed in an earlier practice that day.
But then the 25-year-old surprised those in attendance with his response to why he was wearing a small bandage on his cheek during the press conference, saying that he had been diagnosed with a form of cancer.
“It was just this random, odd-looking bump that kept growing. For me, it was like, I don’t have a lot of acne like that, and it popped up and we knew to go to the dermatologist. They removed it, they did a biopsy on it, and it came back last week, right before camp, that it was a rare form of skin cancer for my age.”
Mr. Haener then added that he hopes to get a procedure done when the Saints return to New Orleans after training camp and the early part of preseason. The team is currently holding camp at UC Irvine in Southern California, and then their first two preseason games are road contests, at the Arizona Cardinals and then at the San Francisco 49ers. The latter takes place on Aug. 18, and the Saints will finally return to New Orleans afterward ahead of their final preseason game, a home matchup with the Tennessee Titans on Aug. 25.
Nearly every ensuing question in Mr. Haener’s media availability then shifted toward the news that he had revealed rather than any plays on the field or what he did during the offseason. When asked by a reporter what the type of cancer is called, Mr. Haener wouldn’t reveal that information and said he wanted to keep that within the Saints organization.
He did, however, state that he was “okay mentally” upon receiving news that he had cancer.
“I feel like I’m young and healthy to have something like that pop-up, but I want to take care of it, and I want to be responsible about it,” Mr. Haener said when asked what went through his mind upon hearing that word. “And obviously not make it a distraction, because I’m going to be fine, everything is going to be taken care of.
“But I don’t want to wait too long with something like this, and I want to get a handle [on it]. The organization has been great with communicating with me and setting things up to make sure I’m healthy.”
A free agent at the time, Mr. Moreau announced he was temporarily stepping away from football to get treatment, and just two months later, the Saints signed him to a contract. Then, two months after that, in July 2023, Mr. Moreau said his cancer was in full remission, and he went on to play in 15 games with New Orleans last season.
It’s been an eventful year-plus for Mr. Haener since being drafted by the Saints in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He made the team out of training camp last year, but just one day before the start of the 2023 NFL season, Mr. Haener was suspended for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy.
He was forced to sit for the first six games of the season and was docked one-third of his salary for the year. In a statement posted on social media, Mr. Haener said he did not know how the banned substance got into his body but that he would take full responsibility for the failed test.
Once the suspension was lifted, Mr. Haener did not see the field for a single snap all regular season, with Derek Carr, Jameis Winston, and Taysom Hill all ahead of him on the depth chart. This season, Mr. Winston has since departed, but Mr. Carr and Mr. Hill remain, and New Orleans also drafted quarterback Spencer Rattler in the fifth round, and the rookie is expected to compete with Mr. Haener for backup duties.
Like Mr. Carr, Mr. Haener also went to Fresno State, where the latter was First-Team All-Mountain West as a senior in 2022. He spent four years at Fresno, including redshirting one, and passed for 9,013 yards, with 67 touchdowns and 17 interceptions with the Bulldogs. Prior to that, he began his college career at the University of Washington, redshirting in 2017 and serving as a backup in 2018.
