When players arrive for meetings with their new coaches on Monday, Ben DiNucci might be the most important person in the New Orleans Saints quarterbacks room.
Maybe. Probably not. But DiNucci shouldn't be overlooked. If you're already checking the lists of free agent quarterbacks still out there, hoping to find someone who has gone into a game with Kellen Moore on his headset? Who has sat in on meetings with offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier and quarterbacks coach Scott Tolzien? Who at least knows Moore's playbook? DiNucci is your guy.
DiNucci landed with the Saints practice squad last year, and he was one of many players who returned for 2025 on a reserve/future deal (a minimum salary contract essentially promising them a spot on the 90-man offseason roster, and an extended tryout at training camp). But before that, before he tried his hand on the XFL's Seattle Sea Dragons, DiNucci played quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys in 2020 and 2021. His time there overlapped with Moore, Nussmeier, and Tolzien, among other coaches now on staff in New Orleans.
And DiNucci started a game for Dallas, too, back in 2020. With injuries sidelining both Dak Prescott and his backup Andy Dalton, DiNucci was asked to start on Oct. 31 against the Philadelphia Eagles. It was a rough day for him. DiNucci went 21-of-40 for 180 yards, losing two fumbles, and was sacked four times in a 23-9 loss. He was demoted further down the depth chart after that and has been pretty definitively viewed as a backup ever since.
Being a backup isn't a bad gig. Especially with a new coaching staff installing a new playbook that you've already seen before. That might give DiNucci a leg up on someone like Jake Haener as the Saints shuffle their depth chart, at least here in the early spring. With Derek Carr's future in doubt and Spencer Rattler working to assert himself as a viable starter, and with the 2025 NFL draft drawing closer by the day, guys on the edge like DiNucci need every advantage they can get. Maybe his presence convinces the Saints not to sign another veteran quarterback off the street to fill the same role. Maybe it doesn't. Either way, we shouldn't count him out right away.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Veteran backup QB Ben DiNucci can help Saints manage Derek Carr injury
