New Orleans Saints backup quarterbacks in spotlight during preseason

'I'm looking for how do they operate the offense, and I'm looking for how do they respond when things don't go exactly the way we drew it up'

Aug 08, 2024 at 05:36 PM

John DeShazier

Senior Writer

Full coverage of the New Orleans Saints workouts during 2024 Training Camp at the University of California, Irvine on Wednesday, August 7.

Irvine, Calif. – Regardless of whether starting quarterback Derek Carr plays in the New Orleans Saints' preseason opener Saturday against the Cardinals at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., backups Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler will receive reps as the two continue the battle for No. 2.

Coach Dennis Allen said after Thursday’s training camp practice at Cal-Irvine that he's looking forward to seeing "both of those guys going out and proving that they can operate the offense. Get the play called, get in and out of the huddle, get to the line of scrimmage, get the snap off, go through our progressions. All those are the things you're really looking for.

"What kind of poise do these guys play with. When the lights are on, when the crowd's going, do they go play playground football. Or do they play with poise and composure and operate the offense. That doesn't mean that there won't be some off- script plays. I want to see, when things don't go exactly right, how do we respond. I'm looking for how do they operate the offense, and I'm looking for how do they respond when things don't go exactly the way we drew it up."

SHORT ON HANDS: For Thursday's practice, the Saints had six available receivers (Chris Olave, Cedrick Wilson Jr., A.T. Perry, Kevin Austin Jr., Marquez Callaway and Samson Nacua). Almost as many sat out due to injuries (Rashid Shaheed, Stanley Morgan Jr., Equanimeous St. Brown, Bub Means and Mason Tipton). Allen said if six is the available number for Saturday, six is what the number will be. "Does that mean we may have to change up some personnel groupings and do some different things? We may have to do that," Allen said. "I'd say that wouldn't be uncommon for some of these preseason games."

FOR PETE'S SAKE: Fourth-year linebacker Pete Werner agreed to terms with the team on a three-year contract extension Thursday. Werner had his best season last year, when he totaled career highs in fumble recoveries (two), tackles (93), tackles for loss (four) and games played (16) while registering his first interception.

SIMMONS UPDATE: Unrestricted free agent safety Justin Simmons, a four-time All-Pro, completed his visit with the Saints on Wednesday and left town Thursday morning. "I thought it was a good visit. I can't tell you exactly where that stands right now," Allen said. "I'm sure there'll be some communication from our people to his people and we'll see."

PENNING PROGRESS: Trevor Penning's transition from left tackle to right tackle hasn't been without hiccups, but continues progressing forward, Allen said.

"I think there's still a ways to go for him, but I think he's made some improvement, in particular in the run game," Allen said. "I think there are still some areas in the passing game that we've got to get shored up a little bit, but I think he's getting challenged every day. I'm encouraged by the direction that he's headed, but I'm not ready to sign off on it just yet."

CAN'T MAKE THE CLUB IN THE TUB: For young players, training camp injuries are the worst scenario.

There's not as much concern when players such as linebacker Demario Davis (hamstring) or cornerback Marshon Lattimore (hip) don't practice; they're veterans who have performed at high levels. But for rookies who don't have any equity, it's tough to miss practices and preseason games.

"Guys that have injuries, they've got to be doing everything that they can to get themselves back out here as fast as possible," Allen said. "There's guys that we have more experience with and more volume of information on that we feel like it's a lot easier for us to make decisions on. And then guys that we don't have as much information on makes it more challenging to make those decisions.

"I can only evaluate what I see out here. If you're not out here for me to evaluate, then it's hard for me to make a determination that you're one of the best 53 to be on our team."

All-Access Photos: 2024 Saints Training Camp practice 8/8/24