The New Orleans Saints will have all three of their training camp QBs on the active roster after all.
The team announced Tuesday afternoon that it had signed Jake Haener to the 53-man roster, after he was initially cut then signed to the practice squad. The move came a day after the surprise cut of J.T. Gray, putting the roster back to the limit.
With Haener's elevation the Saints had two open practice squad slots, which they filled with LB Eku Leota and converted QB Tommy Mellott, who will be listed as a WR on the Saints roster.
Leota was initially signed as a UDFA by the Panthers in 2023 out of Auburn, appearing in 11 games (1 start), while logging 8 tackles and a sack.
Mellott immediately becomes one of the more intriguing names on the roster. He played QB at Montana State and was drafted by the Raiders in the 6th round, but was cut at the end of camp. Mellott appeared in 39 college games, completing 353 passes for 4,745 yards and 39 touchdowns, while also carring the ball 419 times for 2,847 yards and 38 more TDs. He will draw immediate comparisons to Taysom Hill, though he's less of a power player than he is a speed player, and would likely be better compared to Julian Edelman, a former college QB who transitioned to WR and found sustained success with the Patriots.
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With Haener now on the active roster the Saints now have the ability to take advantage of the NFL's emergency third QB slot. Teams are allowed to elevate up to two practice squad players per week, but those players can't be used in the emergency QB slot. Assuming nothing else changes the Saints will now be able to have Haener technically inactive, but dressed and available should each of the QBs ahead of him go down.
The Saints announced last week that Spencer Rattler would be the Week 1 starter after a long QB competition between the second-year QB and rookie Tyler Shough. Head coach Kellen Moore maintained throughout training camp that Haener was also a part of the QB battle, but usage indicated he was a distant third.
New Orleans will open up its 2025 season against the Arizona Cardinals on Sept. 7 at the Caesars Superdome.