New Orleans Saints: How to solve the team’s quarterback conundrum
By Tony Twillie
Taysom Hill
Everyone loves Taysom. This guy is a football player, period. Hill’s deal is he’s a restricted free agent, which means the Saints can match any offer he gets. I’ll go on record here – Hill will be back.
Because Hill hasn’t taken a ton of snaps at QB, there isn’t much book on him.
While he projects like a Josh Allen or a poor man’s Lamar Jackson with his speed and versatility at QB, there’s just not enough film on him for anyone today to sign him as a QB. So they would sign him for what they know him as – an athlete. That market isn’t high.
Hill played for $645,000 this year. The Saints have to decide how they would like to tender him. If they tender him at between $4.15 and $4.67 million (dependent on the salary cap), then a team would have to give up a first-round pick if they signed him.
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This would be a savvy play to maybe keep teams away from him, but it costs the Saints more money. They can tender him between $2.9 and $3.5 million and that comes with a second-round pick if he signs elsewhere.
They wouldn’t tender him any lower than that because the compensation then is based on his draft status and Hill was an undrafted free agent, so the Saints would lose him for nothing.
This one may play out a bit because the Saints have rights to Hill. The only way Hill signs elsewhere is if he’s going to get a shot to be a QB. It’s what he wants and it would be understandable for him to try and get his dream job.
But his greatest value to the Saints is in his current capacity. For all those that love seeing him QB, understand that once he becomes “just” the QB, he won’t run as much, you’ll lose him on special teams, and he’s not going to catch passes or block.
All the “Taysom Hill” things he does will be gone.
Think about that for this season. Six receiving TDs, one rushing. Blocked punts. 8.5 yards per touch.
So before you think of Hill as “the man” or “the next”, understand his current value. Understand that he would require at least three people to replace him in his other jobs. He’s really that good. Which is why I’m sure the Saints will pay him.