The New Orleans Saints explored multiple options when Derek Carr went down with a shoulder injury back in Week 3, looking to reinforce the depth chart with a backup quarterback behind Jameis Winston. The Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson reports that the Saints tried and failed to poach quarterback Ben DiNucci from the Broncos practice squad in September.
But DiNucci didn’t see a better situation on the Saints’ 53-man roster than he already had in Denver. The Saints signed Jake Luton from the Carolina Panthers practice squad and rostered him for three weeks while Carr played through his injured throwing shoulder; when rookie quarterback Jake Haener returned from a six-week suspension to start the season, Luton was waived.
A former seventh-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2020 NFL draft, DiNucci played college football at Pittsburgh and James Madison before trying his hand with the XFL’s Seattle Sea Dragons in 2023, where he led the startup squad to a 7-3 record and playoff berth. The Broncos signed him after a success tryout at rookie minicamp in May.
DiNucci would have had the same fate without the promise of a spot on the Broncos practice squad once he was available again, so it’s easy to understand why he would rather stay in Denver than relocate to New Orleans. It doesn’t help that Sean Payton’s Broncos are surging towards a potential playoff berth (their 7-6 record has them in ninth place in the AFC playoff standings) while the Saints are the last-ranked 6-7 team in the NFC (in eleventh place). Even if DiNucci had hung around with the Saints, if nothing else the vibes in Denver seems to be in a much better place.
