The New Orleans Saints are signing one of the quarterbacks we suggested they would target: Jake Luton, per ESPN’s Field Yates. Luton was on the Carolina Panthers practice squad but will now join the Saints’ 53-man roster behind Derek Carr, Jameis Winston, and Taysom Hill. He was elevated for their Week 3 game after starting quarterback Bryce Young was held out with an ankle injury, but reverted to the practice squad, making him available for the Saints to pluck away.
NFL rules for this acquisition demand Luton be rostered for at least three weeks in New Orleans, so it’s not like he’s going to sign with their 53-man roster on Tuesday and be send down to the practice squad on Wednesday.
This pickup suggests Carr won’t be available when the Saints kick off with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday. Saints head coach Dennis Allen has said that Carr will be evaluated on a week-to-week basis as he recovers from a shoulder injury, and he declined to shut the door on Carr playing against the Bucs. But that’s a bit of a long shot and it’s more realistic to expect Winston to start with Carr returning for the following week’s road game with the New England Patriots.
Back to Luton: he spent most of the 2022 season on the Saints practice squad but was let go this spring after the team selected Jake Haener in the 2023 NFL draft. Haener is currently serving a six-game suspension so his return will line up with the end of Luton’s NFL-mandated three weeks on the roster. Look for the Saints to swap one backup for another at that point.
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