Inside The Huskies

Ex-Husky Haener Poised to Make His First NFL Start for New Orleans

The quarterback is one of three in the league with a Montlake background.

Dan Raley

Ex-Husky Jake Haener greets Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) following their game.
Ex-Husky Jake Haener greets Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) following their game. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

In a personnel development that has the rapt attention of a buoyant Southern city, a former University of Washington quarterback will enjoy a milestone moment and make his NFL starting debut this weekend.

No, not THAT ex-Husky signal-caller.

While a good portion of Atlanta clamors for the Falcons to replace a slumping Kirk Cousins behind center with rookie Michael Penix Jr. formerly of the UW, long-ago Montlake quarterback Jake Haener will beat Penix to the pro football starting punch by opening for the New Orleans Saints for the first time on Sunday at home against the Washington Commanders.

In his second NFL season , the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Haener will step in for Derek Carr, out with a hand fracture.

"I might never get an opportunity to start a game again," Haener told reporters this week. "I'm going to show everybody what I'm capable of doing and let the guys know I'm confident in doing that. Go and win this game, and things can change. I think it's a 1-0 mentality and it's beat the Commanders and show everybody what Jake Haener can do on Sunday."

For the UW, Haener is the one who got away. He played two seasons behind Jake Browning and refused to spend a third backing up Jacob Eason. He finished up at Fresno State, redshirting one year and playing two seasons for Kalen DeBoer while ever so briefly contemplating following his coach to Seattle.

Haener now is one of three former Husky quarterbacks in the NFL, joined by Browning and Penix.

Against the Commanders, Haener will enter the game with seven mop-up appearances this season and 14 pass completions in 29 attempts for 177 yards and a touchdown.

He actually entered the NFL in 2023, but was suspended and didn't play in any games as a Saints rookie after failing a drug test, turning up positive for a substance he claimed was a surprise to him yet apolotizing for it.

Penix and Browning each have made two mop-up appearances this season, this after Browning started seven games and won four times in 2023 for the Cincinnati Bengals as an injury fill-in for Joe Burrows.

Yet in Atlanta, fans have grown increasingly restless after the Falcons have lost the last four games to drop their record to 6-7. Atlanta plays again on Monday night against the Raiders in Las Vegas, with no quarterback change imminent unless the franchise pulls a big surprise.

Meantime, Haener will see if he can survive his first against the Washington Commanders.

"I feel like I've worked too hard to go in there with that mentality, 'Oh, don't screw up,' " Haener said. "I've been preparing for this. I'm going to do everything I can. This is a must-win game, but if you look at it, we're 5-8. What do I have to lose? No seriously, what do I have to lose?"

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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