The Saints have trimmed their quarterback depth chart. The team announced on Friday that veteran Nathan Peterman has been released. 
Peterman has been in the NFL since 2017, but he has made just 15 appearances in his career. Four his five starts came during his first two Bills campaigns, and he has bounced on and off the practice squads of the Raiders and Bills since then.
The 30-year-old joined the Saints in March to compete for a spot on the 53-man roster. New Orleans already has Derek Carr in place as the starter along with 2023 fourth-rounder Jake Haener and fifth-round rookie Spencer Rattler, however. The latter two have spent the offseason battling for the QB2 role, and that competition will no doubt continue through the rest of training camp and into the preseason. As a vested veteran, Peterman will not be subject to waivers.
The former fifth-rounder will be able to join a new team in a bid to latch onto a roster spot during cutdowns at the end of the summer. He will otherwise be a candidate for taxi squad spot upon a potential return to New Orleans. Teams will have unlimited elevations for signal-callers to dress as their emergency No. 3 quarterback in 2024. The runner-up in the Haener-Rattler competition will of course be a strong candidate to serve in that capacity, though.
To fill the roster spot created by Peterman’s release – a move which will create a dead money charge of $80K, the guaranteed figure in his veteran minimum pact – the Saints signed wideout Samson Nacua. The brother of last year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year runner-up Puka Nacua, Samson initially entered the NFL as a Colts UDFA in 2022. He failed to make the roster and spent the past two seasons playing spring football in the USFL and UFL. Now, the 26-year-old will attempt to carve out a depth spot in New Orleans’ WR room.