NEW ORLEANS -- The Saints signed quarterback Hunter Dekkers on Tuesday following a tryout at rookie minicamp over the weekend.
The Saints now have four quarterbacks under the age of 27 following Derek Carr's retirement announcement Saturday. They also selected Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough, 25, in the second round of the 2025 draft, and have Spencer Rattler, 24, and Jake Haener, 26, in the room as well.
Shough is the only unsigned player from the Saints' nine-person rookie draft class.
The Saints showed interest in Dekkers early in the draft process this spring, and quarterbacks coach Scott Tolzien spent time 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 Iowa Criminal Division investigation into sports gambling. He was one of 35 people at Iowa and Iowa State who faced criminal charges or the loss of eligibility due to sports betting. He would eventually plead guilty to a reduced charge of underage gambling.
Dekkers made approximately 366 bets on a DraftKings account belonging to his mother over the course of three years, including one $15 win bet 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 throwing games, I wasn't shaving points, and I would never do that," Dekkers told ESPN in March. "There was never any intent behind any of these bets. We weren't trying to make money. We were just treating it like a video game, in a sense.
"It was just a mistake that I made, and I have to live with it for the rest of my life."
Dekkers did not play football in 2023 and spent the 2024 season playing for junior college Iowa Western. He started 12 games for Iowa State in 2022, completing 66% of his passes for 3,044 yards, 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
