It certainly wasn't the path he intended to take, but Hunter Dekkers will be taking his shot with an NFL team after all.
The former Iowa State quarterback who saw his NCAA career end due to a gambling scandal is signing with the Saints, a source confirmed to WWL. Dekkers was among 16 tryout players who worked out for coaches during this past week's rookie minicamp.
The Saints have also signed tryout WR Donovan Peoples-Jones and DB Terrell Burgess, while releasing RB Jordan Mims and DB Millard Bradford.
Dekkers was a once an intriguing college prospect before his ban, backing up current 49ers QB Brock Purdy at Iowa State before starting 12 games in the 2022 season, completing 66.1 percent of his passses for 3,044 yard and 19 TDs against 14 interceptions. Dekkers ultimately landed at Iowa Western Community College in 2024, leading the Reivers to an 11-2 record before taking his shot at the NFL.
The 23-year-old southpaw went undrafted but had tryout interest from a handful of teams. He opted to join the Saints due, in part, to the extensive QB experience on the coaching staff between head coach Kellen Moore, OC Doug Nussmeier, QBs coach Scott Tolzien and offensive assistant Scott Linehan, all of whom played the position at the highest level.
Dekkers will join a remarkably young QB room with the Saints, with the four players in room combining to have 3 years of NFL experience. That group includes rookie Tyler Shough, whom Dekkers worked alongside this week, as well as second-year pro Spencer Rattler and third-year pro Jake Haener. The latter two have seven combined starts among them, but no wins.
"[The young room" provides an awesome, awesome opportunity just to kind of help develop these guys at an earlier age probably than a lot of these quarterbacks, and so we feel great," Moore said after Saturday's practice. "I feel like we’ve set this room up in a really, potentially successful way ... so we feel like it’s just going to be a really, really good developing melting pot for them.”
The Saints will, most likely, have to find their next starter within that group after the retirement of Derek Carr over the weekend due to a shoulder injury. Moore has maintained that there will be a legitimate competition that spans the preseason, which he said will include each of Shough, Rattler and Haener.
The Saints will next be on the field when they begin the first of three OTA sessions later this month.
