Saints do-it-all weapon Taysom Hill and true tight end Foster Moreau suffered significant injuries in the latter stages of the 2024 season, which was a fitting end to a generally miserable year. It appears they are on the mend, but as Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reports, neither of them will return to practice until training camp at the earliest.
It is worth noting that Underhill does not say whether Hill and Moreau are aiming for the start of camp in late July or if they will return on some later date. Both players are entering platform campaigns, so their future earning power will be impacted to a large extent by their health and productivity in 2025.
Hill, who is going into his age-35 season, was in line to build on the career-high 114 combined receiving and rushing touches he totaled in 2023. Last year, Klint Kubiak’s first (and only) season as the Saints’ offensive coordinator, it was reported that Hill could see more opportunities in the running game while still serving as an ancillary receiving option.
Unfortunately, the BYU product missed a handful of contests early on in the 2024 season due to a chest injury and fractured ribs, and he then sustained a torn ACL in Week 13. Given the usual timeline for ACL injuries, it would not be surprising if Hill were to miss the start of the 2025 regular season.
When he is healthy enough to return, it is unclear how new head coach Kellen Moore and offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier plan to deploy Hill. Even without the ACL injury, it is unlikely the college quarterback – who does have a 7-2 record as a starting signal-caller in the pros but who has not thrown any passes except in special packages since 2021 – would have factored into New Orleans’ upcoming QB competition.
The Saints re-upped tight end Juwan Johnson on a lucrative three-year contract in March, thus cementing him the club’s TE1. Moreau will therefore have to again compete with Johnson (and Hill) for targets whenever he returns to the field.
Now 28, the former fourth-round pick of the Raiders started all 17 games for the Saints last year, his second season in New Orleans. He tied a career-high with five TDs, and his 32 catches and 413 receiving yards came up just shy of tying the personal-best marks he set with Las Vegas in 2022.
Moreau suffered a knee injury during the Saints’ season finale in 2024 and had to be carted off the field. Again, it is uncertain exactly when Moreau will be medically cleared, though he is of course hopeful it will be before the start of the regular season.
“The knee is doing great, and I’d have to say we are ahead of schedule,” Moreau recently said (via Rod Walker of NOLA.com). “I’d be pretty happy with a timeline that gets me back in either one of those spots (meaning before the start of training camp or the start of the regular season).”
Given Moore’s history of featuring tight ends in his offense, Moreau – who signed a three-year, $12MM pact with the Saints in 2023 – could position himself for another multiyear accord next offseason if he can return to full health sooner rather than later.
Why has this guy never been in the race to be the full time QB1? Considering they’re questions marks they currently have on the roster, is there something I’m missing?
yeah Black, I think your missing he never had the arm talent to be a starting QB. not a knock on him….he was just a right handed Tim Tebow without all the hype. still a valuable guy to have on the field but you have to scheme him correctly. he just never had the ability to stand in the pocket and sling it.