The New York Giants spent Saturday tightening their depth chart ahead of Week 3, and the move that stood out most was the promotion of quarterback Jake Haener from the practice squad to the active roster, via the NFL transaction wire.
The club also called up wide receiver Braxton Berrios and linebacker Malik Harrison for the weekend, but Haener’s elevation is the one that changes the look of the quarterback room.
Haener, 27, arrived in New York after a brief and uneven start to his NFL career. Fresno State’s three-year starter left college with First-Team All-Mountain West honors as a senior, a Second-Team nod the year before, and honorable mention recognition in 2020.
New Orleans selected him 127th overall in the fourth round of the 2023 draft and signed him to a four-year rookie deal worth about $4.54 million, including a $704,814 signing bonus. Three seasons later, the Saints waived him.
The Giants claimed the leftover and parked him on the practice squad after preseason.
His only extended NFL look came in 2024, when he appeared in eight games for New Orleans and made one start. The numbers were modest: 46.2 percent completions, 226 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
That sample is thin, but it is also the only live tape teams have of him under NFL pressure. What the Giants appear to value now is availability and familiarity with a system that still needs a reliable third arm if the starter or backup is limited.
Signing a practice-squad quarterback to the 53-man roster is rarely about immediate stardom. It is usually about insurance, scout-team quality, and the chance that a young passer who has already seen a game week can step in without a full week of installation.
Haener has that week-to-week experience, even if the production was limited. He also knows how quickly the league can reopen a door that closed in New Orleans.
The timing matters. Week 3 is still early enough that a roster spot used on a quarterback can be reversed later if the Giants need a specialist or another defender.
For now, the organization has chosen to treat Haener as more than a taxi-squad extra. Berrios and Harrison give the skill and linebacker groups extra bodies for one game; Haener’s promotion is the longer statement.
It says the Giants want another quarterback on the active list rather than hoping the practice squad remains untouched if something goes wrong on Sunday.
Whether Haener ever takes a regular-season snap in New York is another question.
The more immediate point is that the Giants decided his development and emergency value were worth a roster spot this week, and they made that decision official on a Saturday in late September.
