The New Orleans Saints have added quarterback Hunter Dekkers to their ranks, following a tryout held during the weekend at the rookie minicamp.
With this addition, the Saints now have four quarterbacks under the age of 27.
The team also selected Tyler Shough from Louisville in the second round of the 2025 draft. In addition, the team already has Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener.
Shough is the only player who has not yet signed from the Saints’ nine-player rookie class.
The Saints showed interest in Dekkers from the start of the draft process this spring. Quarterbacks coach Scott Tolzien was with Dekkers during his pro day at South Dakota in late March.
Dekkers lost his NCAA eligibility in 2023 after three seasons at Iowa State, following an investigation by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation into sports betting.
He was one of 35 people at Iowa and Iowa State who faced criminal charges or loss of eligibility due to sports betting. He ultimately pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of underage gambling.
Dekkers placed approximately 366 bets on a DraftKings account belonging to his mother over three years, including a $15 bet to win on the Iowa State football team in 2021, a game in which he did not play. Because he was on the roster for that game, he lost his remaining eligibility.I wasn’t fixing games, I wasn’t shaving points, and I would never do that. There was never any intent behind any of these bets. We weren’t trying to make money. We were treating it like a video game, in a sense.
Hunter Dekkers
It was just a mistake I made, and I have to live with it for the rest of my life.
Hunter Dekkers
Dekkers did not play football in 2023 and spent the 2024 season playing for Iowa Western junior college. He started 12 games for Iowa State in 2022, completing 66% of his passes for 3,044 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions.
