Ex-Husky Haener Still Chasing NFL Ambitions

Seven years ago almost to the day, Jake Haener lost out to Jacob Eason in his bid to become the University of Washington starting quarterback and immediately left school for some place more accommodating.

Three years later, he would consider a return to Montlake with newly hired coach Kalen DeBoer after the two had worked well together at Fresno State.

However, Haener chose to stay put with the Mountain West entry, forcing DeBoer to bring Michael Penix Jr. to Seattle.

From those original combatants, Eason, 28, has been out of football for two full years now after appearing in just a pair of NFL games -- one each for the Indianapolis Colts and Carolina Panthers -- while throwing 10 passes and completing five.

Yet Haener, 27, hasn't given up on his pro football pursuits just yet, signing as a free agent over the weekend with the New York Giants following a productive individual workout over the previous month.

Similar to Eason, Haener has had a fairly limited NFL career, playing in just eight games and starting once for the New Orlean Saints while throwing 39 passes and completing 18 of them.

Even with their college successes, these two quarterbacks have demonstrated just how hard it is to make it work at the game's highest level.

The Giants plan to sign QB Jake Haener following his workout with the team last month, per @MikeGarafolo.

Haener made eight appearances including one start with the Saints in 2024, and threw for 226 yards with a touchdown and an interception. pic.twitter.com/rCVRAEI8RA
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) August 17, 2026

Haener spent two years at the UW, redshirting in 2017 and appearing in three games and completing a collective 9 of 13 passes the following season while Jake Browning was well entrenched as the Huskies' No. 1 signal-caller.

Eason, a local kid from Lake Stevens who transferred in from Georgia, got in the way of Haener's depth-chart progression and directed the Huskies to an 8-5 season in 2019 that was considered a mild disappointment.

Some people always have wondered what might have happened had Chris Petersen's coaching staff gone with Haener over Eason in 2019.

Would the UW have won more games?

Would Haener have benefitted more from a full season with the Huskies in securing an NFL career?

Haener now finds himself in a training camp run by new Giants coach John Harbaugh. He joins a New York quarterback contingent that consists of starter Jaxon Dart, back-up Jameis Winston and journeyman Brandon Allen.

He faces an even more uphill fall camp battle than he did against Eason when at the UW, but unlike the other guy, he's still chasing the pro competition, a job on Sunday, his dreams.

Add us as a preferred source on Google