The New Orleans Saints' quarterback room is down to three after another pair of roster moves.
The Saints opted to waive UDFA quarterback Hunter Dekkers, who was signed after a rookie minicamp tryout, and signed another UDFA in punter Kai Kroeger. Head coach Kellen Moore didn't rule out Dekkers potentially returning down the line.
“We’re just in a goofy situation quarterback-wise. It’s just the reps right now," Moore said. "Obviously we think the world of Hunter and we’ll see how everything progresses here moving forward and obviously feel really good with his development.”
Dekkers didn't receive any live reps during the main portion of the Saints first seven practices.
The signing of Kroeger is interesting, considering he'll join midstream a punter competition that already includes last year's punter in Matt Hayball and UDFA James Burnip. At 6-3 Kroeger is another tall specialist, having spent the beginning of the offseason with the New York Jets. Kroeger appeared in 61 games for South Carolina in college, tying the program record for the most games in school history. He finished second all-time in the. SEC with 11,823 yards and was a finalist for the Ray Guy Award in 2024, which is handed out to the nation's best punter.
Related
Kroeger was one of several players whom the team brought in for a workout this week, a group that included another recent signee in OT Jonathan Mendoza.
“We just really liked what Kai presented the other day," Moore said. "He came in for a workout and did an excellent job and so we felt like he’d be a great addition to the competition and these rosters are always moving. There are always little pieces and adjustments. We’ve got enough flexibility within our roster to handle it for the time and we’ll see how it all progresses.”
The Saints have an off day from practice on Friday, but they'll be back in action for another pair of padded practices on Saturday and Sunday.