There will never be another Drew Brees. The former New Orleans Saints quarterback and future Hall of Famer still casts a huge shadow in New Orleans.
Since his retirement, the Saints have struggled to find his replacement. Three quarterbacks are vying for Brees’ old position: Spencer Rattler, Tyler Shough and Jake Haener.
Although Brees says he likes all three, the one he says is more like him is Haener.
“It's a pretty unique situation, if you just look at the youth across the board,” Brees said via NOLA.com Thursday, while in town to promote the NOLA Pickleball Event. “Obviously, there was a lot of excitement in drafting Tyler Shough, and I felt like Spencer Rattler did some great things last year. And Jake Haener, his (playing) style, his stature, everything reminds me of a lot of myself. … So we'll see how the competition shakes out. It seems like it's been a pretty eventful camp so far.”
Brees added,“I'm sure the Saints will take a much different approach than most teams do when it comes to starters, mainly the QBs,” he said. “Some teams barely play their QB starters trying to keep healthy for the regular season. But (with) these guys, every rep is so valuable, both in practice and scrimmages. All those (reps) are so valuable just to feel like you're getting game-like reps.”
Haener, like his predecessor Derek Carr, is a Fresno State guy. After Carr got injured, the Saints played both him and Rattler, who is expected to battle for the starting QB position.
Most Saints fans were hoping before the season started that they would draft Cam Ward or Shedur Sanders, but they seem to be content with the three they have on the roster right now.
Some think they may be holding out for Texas quarterback Arch Manning whose grandfather Archie played for the Saints back in the 70s til the early 80s.