Saints Backup QB Jake Haener Diagnosed With Rare Form of Skin Cancer

New Orleans Saints backup quarterback Jake Haener said he’s been diagnosed with skin cancer. Haener, 25, did not disclose what type of cancer he has but said that it’s rare to see it at his age.

New Orleans Saints backup quarterback Jake Haener was sporting a small bandage on his right cheek during Friday’s practice session

“It’s not going be like a life-threatening thing right now,” Haener told reporters from University of California, Irvine, where the Saints are holding training camp.

Haener was wearing a small bandage on his face during Friday’s practice session. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound quarterback said he will have a consultation with doctors next Thursday to determine the next steps.

“I have to get a different procedure done on my face,” he said. “So, we’re just trying to take the necessary steps in order to see how long I can wait until I have to get that procedure done.”

Haener said he first sought medical help after noticing an “odd-looking bump” on his face that continued growing. A biopsy done the week before camp revealed that it was cancerous.

“I was kind of worried about it; my family was kind of worried about it,” he said.

Haener said the only concern is waiting too long to undergo the necessary procedure and potentially allowing the cancer to spread.

“With these skin cancer things, if you wait, things spread, so I’ve just got to get it taken care of,” he said.

Haener is the second New Orleans player to be diagnosed with a form of cancer in the past year

Haener is the second Saints player to be diagnosed with a form of cancer in the past year. Tight end Foster Moreau revealed signs of Hodgkin lymphoma during a team physical last year. This occurred after he signed with New Orleans.

Moreau, 27, announced last July that he was in full remission after he went through treatment after the initial diagnosis in March 2023.

“I feel like I’m pretty young and healthy to be able to have something like that pop up,” Haener said. “But I want to take care of it and be responsible about it. [I] obviously [don’t want to] make it a distraction because I’m going to be fine, everything’s going to be taken care of.”

The Saints selected Haener during the fourth round of the 2023 NFL draft out of Fresno State. The California native has yet to appear in his first NFL regular-season game. He received a six-game suspension last September for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy.

Haener is currently battling rookie Spencer Rattler for the backup quarterback spot behind Derek Carr. The Saints had their third practice of training camp Friday. In fact, Haener has been a full participant in all of them.

Saints training camp at Irvine’s Crawford Field runs from Wednesday, July 24 through Friday, August 16.