As the New Orleans Saints shift their operations to California this week they'll be rejoined by a familiar face, and bidding farewell to another.
The team announced on Wednesday that it had re-signed UDFA quarterback Hunter Dekkers less than a week after waiving the intriguing young prospect to make way for a third punter. The Saints have also whittled that punter competition down to two with the release of Matt Hayball, who won the punter competition during last year's training camp and started all 17 games.
Hayball led the NFL in kicks inside the 20 a year ago, but he was ranked 24th in the league with a net punting average of 40.4. The Saints will now, barring additional signings, turn to a third rookie punter in as many seasons. They'll be choosing between a pair of former SEC legs in Matt Burnip (Alabama) and Kai Kroeger (South Carolina) who started camp with the Jets. It'll be the fourth punter in as many seasons for the Saints, who have not found stability at the position since the release of Thomas Morstead in 2021.
The decision to bring back Dekkers is an interesting one, considering he didn't take a single rep in team drills for the first few weeks of camp and is a clear No. 4 behind Jake Haener, Tyler Shough and Spencer Rattler. Dekkers arrived at the Saints from the JUCO ranks due to an NCAA suspension that prevented him from playing at the D-I level. He started his career at Iowa State, backing up Brock Purdy.
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The Saints will hold a handful of practices on the campus of UC Irvine, the same location they held camp a year ago, sandwiching the team's preseason opener against the Chargers. Head coach Kellen Moore hasn't yet announced who will start at QB for the game, but the likely choice would be Rattler, who has gotten the most reps with the first-team offense to this point in camp. Shough, the No. 40 pick in the draft, is also a strong contender to take the starting role out of camp, but he'll likely need strong preseason performances to make a case.