Jake Haener is embroiled in a competition to be the New Orleans Saints' backup quarterback, but he was sent a curveball in the weeks leading up to camp when doctors told him he had developed a rare form of skin cancer.
A little over a week before reporting for camp, Haener said Wednesday with a band-aid on his right cheek, he went to a dermatologist to ask about a spot on his face that kept growing. They did a biopsy and the results came back just ahead of camp.
"It was kind of like something that just popped up and when things like that pop up, you’ve got to do your best to not ignore it," Haener said. "You’ve got to take care of it. My family was great, training staff has been great about dealing with it with me and obviously just trying to stay focused on what I got to do here.”
Haener said he'll have to have another procedure done, though he kept the official diagnosis to himself and emphasized that the situation is not life-threatening. The plan is for him to meet with doctors on Aug. 1, a scheduled off day from camp, to determine the next steps and timeline.
The second-year pro indicated that his hope is that it could be handled in the open week following the team's preseason finale against the Titans.
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“I feel like I’m pretty young and healthy to be able to just have something like that pop up," he continued, "but I want to take care of it and I want to be responsible about it and obviously not make it a distraction because I’m going to be fine, everything is going to be taken care of, but like I said, I don’t want to wait too long with something like this and I want to get it handled, and like I said, the organization has been great with communicating with me and setting things up to make sure I’m healthy.”
If the situation has been weighing on the young QB, he didn't show it on Friday, completing all seven of his pass attempts as he competes with rookie Spencer Rattler for the backup job.
The Saints traded up to pick Haener in the fourth round of the 2023 draft out of Fresno State. He saw significant action in the preseason but has not yet made his NFL debut in a regular season game, spending last year as the third string option behind Derek Carr and Jameis Winston.