The New Orleans Saints have finally reached an all-important offseason that could ultimately shape the next decade for the franchise. After four straight mediocre seasons of missing the playoffs, it’s time for drastic change in New Orleans. That’ll start with a coaching search that is already underway.
Beyond finding a new coach, the Saints will have several massive decisions about which players they’ll be taking into the new era and who they’ll be saying farewell to. It’s far too early in the offseason to know what New Orleans is thinking, but everyone is already making predictions.
ESPN’s NFL staff recently joined in on the predictions, projecting the offseason for all 18 non-playoff teams. Apart of that projection was making a big offseason prediction. For the Saints, NFL analyst Benjamin Solak predicted the Saints will trade Taysom Hill to the Denver Broncos.
ESPN predicts Saints will trade Taysom Hill to Broncos in 2025 offseason
Solak detailed how New Orleans needs to make several moves to get under the salary cap. He highlighted the potential retirements of Ryan Ramczyk and Cam Jordan, and also pointed out how the team could restructure Derek Carr’s deal.
While those moves will help, doing something with Taysom Hill’s $18 million cap hit will help as well. That’s where a modified contract and a trade comes in. Solak names the Broncos as the destination because “nobody else would really be interested.” The connection with Denver is obviously Sean Payton and Pete Carmichael Jr. being there. Those two created the unique role for Hill that he has thrived in during his time in New Orleans.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Hill, because in addition to his cap hit, the veteran tight end turns 35 before the start of next season, and he’s coming off a torn ACL that he suffered in Week 13. With his recovery timeline unclear, everything could be on the table for the do-it-all weapon.