The New York Giants have waived quarterback Jake Haener, according to the league’s official transaction wire. The move ends the latest chapter in a stop-start association between the 27-year-old signal-caller and the franchise this season.
Haener arrived in the NFL as a fourth-round selection of the New Orleans Saints in 2023, taken 127th overall out of Fresno State.
At the college level he had been a three-year starter for the Bulldogs, earning first-team All-Mountain West honors as a senior, second-team recognition the year before, and an honorable mention in 2020.
New Orleans signed him to a four-year rookie contract worth roughly $4.54 million that included a signing bonus just over $700,000.
His time with the Saints never developed into a sustained role. After three seasons the club waived him.
The only regular-season action he recorded came in 2024, when he appeared in eight games and made one start. He completed 46.2 percent of his passes for 226 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
The Giants brought him in after the preseason, initially placing him on the practice squad before later promoting him to the active roster.
That elevation occurred amid quarterback uncertainty in New York, where the team has navigated injuries and roster adjustments at the position. Haener’s presence supplied depth, yet the organization ultimately elected to part ways with him once again.
Throughout his brief professional career Haener has largely operated on the periphery of active rosters.
His college production suggested a capable passer who could manage an offense efficiently, yet the limited snaps he has received in the league have not allowed him to establish himself as more than a developmental or emergency option.
The waiver leaves him free to sign elsewhere, whether with another club’s practice squad or, if claimed, on an active roster.
For the Giants the decision continues a pattern of fluid quarterback depth this year. With primary options already in place or expected to return, the club has shown a willingness to cycle through secondary passers rather than commit long-term roster space to them.
Haener’s release is consistent with that approach. Whether he finds a new opportunity soon will depend on how other teams view the modest sample of NFL work he has produced and the value of an experienced fourth-round pick still only in his mid-twenties.
The transaction itself is straightforward, yet it underscores the narrow margin that separates practice-squad depth from an active-roster role in the modern NFL.
Haener has already moved between those statuses multiple times. Clearing waivers would leave him available once more, continuing a career defined so far by brief opportunities rather than extended stability.
