New Orleans Saints place tender on tight end Josh Hill, per report
The New Orleans Saints have placed a tender on restricted free agent tight end Josh Hill, according to a report.
Per Nick Underhill of The New Orleans Advocate, the New Orleans Saints may be keeping Josh Hill in the Big Easy for another season, which was expected after Benjamin Watson reached a deal with the Baltimore Ravens. The tender (and the lowest tender) doesn’t mean Hill is signed. It means the Saints can match offers from other teams.
The Saints have tendered Josh Hill
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) March 9, 2016
Hill, who was a hot topic last offseason, never broke out of his cage in 2015 like a lot of people were expecting. Following the Jimmy Graham trade, it was expected the New Orleans Saints would insert Hill into the starting role, but Ben Watson obviously had other plans for the team.
Hill showed flashes during his second year as a Saint in 2014, impressing players, fans, and coaches, Sean Payton in particular, who did nothing but talk the big man up a year ago at the annuals owner meeting.
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“Josh Hill is another player I love,” Sean Payton said. “When you look at his runs, jumps, height, weight, speed, you look at his measurables, and he didn’t go to the combine, thank God.
“We were doing this study last year with the draft class and they were talking about some of the top picks at tight end. The scout would see the free agent tight end and kind of say ‘well he’ll come in year one and probably beat out Josh Hill.’
“I said well let’s throw the numbers up on the board with their measurables. You look at a 38-inch vertical jump, he’s an 11 broad (jump), three-cone, whatever. And he’s going against the comparable of one of the top tight ends in the draft a year ago. I said, ‘In every category this guy (Hill) is better.’
“There’s this perception, and we’re the same way as coaches, if we acquire someone as a free agent after the draft, but if you really look at the film and watch him, you’re like ‘hey, if I told you this was our third-round draft pick you’d be excited right now.’ We just got to get that little jersey off his back right now that says I came here as a free agent. I think we feel he has a bright future.”
That’s what Sean Payton said last year, but Hill was not very effective in 2015, tallying just 16 catches for 120 yards and two touchdowns all season. While it was the right move to tender Hill and sign Michael Hoomanawanui to a three-year deal, the New Orleans Saints still have a hole to fill at the tight end position — general manager Mickey Loomis said they hope to add ‘a few’ in free agency and the draft.