Taysom Hill is the “blind date from hell”

If NFL teams signed quarterbacks the same way one might swipe through potential matches in a dating app, each player’s “bio” may look something like this:

Patrick Mahomes, 26. Physically gifted. Can do things no one else can do. Family can be a bit much.

Josh Allen, 25. Unicorn. Goes as deep as you want him to go. Incredible legs.

And then there’s New Orleans Saints’ Taysom Hill:

Taysom Hill, 31. Decent as a backup. Won’t knock your socks off.

After Drew Brees left NOLA, Hill could be best described as the “rebound guy.”

The Ringer’s Danny Heifetz wrote up a 2022 NFL quarterback commitment index determining each team’s level of commitment to its current quarterback.

Some, like the Chiefs, Bills, and Bengals, have found matches made in heaven in their respective QBs. That category is aptly named “relationship goals.”

By contrast, the Saints and Taysom Hill don’t seem very compatible with each other at all. Heifetz dubs this relationship “the blind date from hell.”

"Whatever Payton calls it, he’s leaving the Saints’ next head coach with the most awkward blind date situation ever. Imagine getting to dinner and realizing the quarterback you’ve been set up with plays special teams? Or hearing that, just one season ago, ESPN listed him on its fantasy football platform as a tight end?Maybe New Orleans’s new coach can have a friend call and pretend it’s an emergency. Wait a second … is that what Sean Payton did?"

New Orleans Saints and Taysom Hill may not have a long-term future together

Before Sean Payton left for more relaxing pastures, he naturally made sure Hill was taken care of. In January, Hill signed a four-year, $40 million dollar contract extension with NOLA that could be seen as the worst deal on the Saints’ roster.

Hill ended the 2021 season with a 4-1 quarterback record for the Saints but received an overall quarterback rating of just 42.4

In his first three years, Hill took the majority of his snaps on special teams and most often contributed on trick plays. Hill has above-average skills as a running back and can even catch here and there as a receiver, but when it comes to his quarterback play, the Saints would be wise to move on. There are other fish in the sea.

That being said, desperation is not an attractive trait, and the Saints should be very careful with spending money on free agent quarterbacks. Russell Wilson may be willing to divorce Seattle and start anew in New Orleans, but his injury history may result in an unhappy union with the Saints.

Others like Derek Carr and Jimmy Garoppolo might make one shrug and say, “You could do worse,” and that doesn’t exactly inspire high levels of confidence.

Chances are, the Saints will have to play the field and date quite a few more quarterbacks before finding the one they’re meant to be with. True love is always worth it in the end.