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Taysom Hill

Saints’ Taysom Hill, Foster Moreau Out Until At Least Training Camp

May 25th, 2025 at 12:28pm CST by Rory Parks

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.

Saints Will Hold Open QB Competition

May 10th, 2025 at 5:12pm CST by Ely Allen

The news of the day in the NFL has centered today around the retirement of Saints (and former Raiders) quarterback Derek Carr. Naturally, there have been several questions surrounding the foreknowledge the team had concerning this decision and how it affects the team moving forward.

In speaking to the media, new head coach Kellen Moore revealed a couple things that give us some insight into the situation. Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football tells us that Moore claimed Carr’s decision “is something that came together recently.” ESPN’s Katherine Terrell recalls that, though the Saints were seeking clarity on the Carr situation prior to the draft, Moore has said “multiple times that the communication was great” throughout the process.

With that in mind, Moore also told the media that the team’s knowledge of the Carr situation impacted the Saints’ decision to draft Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, per Jeff Nowak of WWL Radio. Shough now joins two other passers on their rookie deals in New Orleans’ quarterbacks room. With the absence of a veteran in the group, Moore was asked if they would look to add one. Per John Hendrix of Athlon Sports, Moore responded that the team would “certainly have awareness to it…if the opportunity presents itself.”

Without a veteran in the building, though, Moore has made it clear that Shough, Spencer Rattler, and Jake Haener will all be given an opportunity to compete for the starting job, per Underhill. Taken with the 40th overall pick this year, Shough was drafted higher than both Rattler (150th in 2024) and Haener (127th in 2023). In fact, Shough is the team’s highest-drafted quarterback since New Orleans selected Archie Manning No. 2 overall in 1971. There were 18 quarterbacks drafted by the Saints between Manning and Shough, and only one (Garrett Grayson in 2015) was selected before the fourth round; Grayson was a third-round pick.

Despite having just been drafted, Shough, having spent seven years in college (three at Oregon, three at Texas Tech, and one at Louisville), is not the youngest of the current group of passers; Rattler is 24, Shough is 25, and Haener is 26.

After sitting on the bench for two years in Eugene, Shough took over for Justin Herbert as the Ducks’ starter as a redshirt sophomore in 2020. After seemingly losing his job to Boston College transfer Anthony Brown, he transferred to Texas Tech, earning the starting job in Lubbock immediately. Injuries limited Shough to just 13 starts in three years with the Red Raiders, though, and he found his way to Louisville via the Transfer Portal last year. With the Cardinals, Shough went 8-4, completing 62.7 percent of his passes for 3,195 yards, 23 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He showed decent, though not impressive, mobility throughout his collegiate career, as well.

Rattler started six games for the Saints as a rookie last year. New Orleans lost all six games as he completed only 57.0 percent of his passes with four touchdowns and five interceptions. After sitting out his entire rookie season, partially due to a six-game suspension, Haener didn’t fare much better in his only starting opportunity last year. After Rattler’s initial 0-3 stretch earlier in the season, Haener got the nod to replace an injured Carr in Week 15 of last year. After a first half that saw Haener complete only four of 10 pass attempts for 49 yards and a touchdown, the Saints went to the locker room down 14-0 and came out with Rattler as the starter for the remainder of the season.

Though it seems his days as a quarterback are long gone, Swiss Army tight end Taysom Hill also resides in the room. In 2020 & 2021, Hill started nine games under center with the team going 9-2 with him as a quarterback. In those games, he completed 63.75 percent of his passes for just under 200 passing yards per game. He scored 14 touchdowns (eight passing, six rushing) and threw six interceptions as a starter. Since those years, though, Hill has only attempted 34 passes over the last three years (including just four in 2024). He’s likely not a factor in the starting competition, but his presence on the roster does warrant mentioning.

More likely, the three young passers will be duking it out throughout the offseason in order to earn QB1 honors. Moore will rotate all three of Shough, Rattler, and Haener on the first-team offense until somebody takes hold of the job and refuses to let go.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/6/24

December 6th, 2024 at 6:45pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s minor NFL transactions:

Cincinnati Bengals

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Williams, an undrafted rookie out of Tennessee, had appeared in every game for Seattle so far this year. While he only managed four snaps on defense in that time, Williams was the team’s primary punt returner and was back on kickoffs, as well.

Saints TE Taysom Hill Suffers ACL Tear

December 2nd, 2024 at 11:35am CST by Ely Allen

DECEMBER 2: Hill is indeed out for the rest of the year, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. He suffered an ACL tear in addition to other damage, Rapoport adds. Attention will turn to recovery in anticipation of the 2025 campaign with Hill looking to reprise his role as a versatile figure on offense upon return.

DECEMBER 1: The Saints lost their do-it-all Swiss Army knife in today’s loss to the Rams. Veteran offensive weapon Taysom Hill was carted off with a knee injury, and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that the injury is feared to be season-ending.

Hill hasn’t had much of a history with injury during his NFL career, only missing multiple games due to injury in one of his seven previous seasons. Today’s injury, though, will likely force the BYU product to miss the team’s remaining five games.

Hill’s role with the Saints has evolved over the course of his career. The versatile athlete was claimed off of waivers by New Orleans after initially signing with the Packers as an undrafted free agent. After not appearing much his rookie year, the Saints utilized Hill mostly in the rushing game, sparsely using him as a receiver or quarterback in 2018. 2019 saw him develop as a receiver, with Hill catching a career-high six touchdowns that year.

The 2020 and 2021 seasons saw Hill’s receiving impact reduced as he began finding starts at his college position of quarterback, making nine starts at the position in the two years combined. The team made use of his arm but mostly concentrated on his running ability, allowing him to rack up 13 rushing touchdowns in that time.

In 2022, Hill returned to a primarily rushing role, notching a career-high 575 rushing yards while adding on seven touchdowns on the ground and two receiving, matching his career high in total touchdowns. Last season showed perhaps his most versatile season as his 401 rushing yards (four touchdowns) and 291 receiving yards (two touchdowns) combined for the most scrimmage yards in a season for his career.

This year, Hill is the team’s second leading rusher with 268 yards while matching Alvin Kamara with six rushing touchdowns. In the receiving game, Hill is fifth on the team with 18 receptions and has added 150 yards to his scrimmage yard total. Juwan Johnson will continue to perform as the team’s primary receiving tight end, while Jamaal Williams and Kendre Miller are sure to benefit from some additional touches in the run game.

Because of his history at BYU, Hill entered the league at 27 years old and is 34 today. The veteran is due a $10MM base salary in his 35-year-old season, and the Saints don’t have much incentive to cut him as it would only free up $277K in cap space and leave them with $17.71MM in dead money in his contract year. It will be interesting to see how a player of his age and usage will be able to rebound from such a severe injury, but if he can, he has every incentive to return in 2025.

The Saints will have Hill undergo an MRI in order to determine the severity of the injury, but all signs are currently pointing to the initial diagnosis of a season-ending knee injury. If confirmed, a move to injured reserve for the remainder of the season is likely in order to free up a roster spot.

NFC South Notes: Panthers, Saints, Dennis

October 6th, 2024 at 10:11pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Bryce Young may have entered the game in place of Andy Dalton during the Panthers‘ Week 5 loss to the Bears, but head coach Dave Canales told media that Dalton would remain the team’s starting quarterback moving forward.

Canales explained that the quarterback change was more about limiting Dalton’s exposure behind an injured Carolina offensive line than it was about giving Young another opportunity to earn the starting gig, according to Joe Person of The Athletic. The Panthers lost starting center Austin Corbett and starting right tackle Taylor Moton to injuries during Sunday’s loss, forcing Canales to prioritize Dalton’s health with Carolina trailing by four possessions.

“We had a couple of injuries on the offensive line and wanting to get [Young] in there, get some live reps,” Canales said. “It was something where I wanted to get Andy out of there and just give Bryce an opportunity to continue some football in there while we had time.”

Canales confirmed that Dalton would start for the Panthers in Week 6, though it’s worth noting that he made a similar declaration about Young’s job safety after the former No. 1 overall pick struggled in Week 2 against the Chargers. Canales declined to offer any insight on the Panthers’ long-term plans for Young, and though his history as a quarterback-friendly coach suggests he could still get the best out of his young signal-caller, rumblings about a 2025 trade have surfaced. The Panthers rebuffed four trade inquiries already.

Here is the latest from the NFC South:

  • The Saints ruled tight end Taysom Hill out of their Monday night matchup with the Chiefs due to a rib injury. Hill missed the Saints’ Week 3 matchup against the Eagles with a chest injury, but returned to full practice participation the following week. He then sustained fractured ribs against the Falcons in Week 4, sidelining him for Week 5 and potentially beyond. Dennis Allen (via ESPN.com’s Katherine Terrell) declined to say how may ribs Hill fractured. Foster Moreau and Juwan Johnson will take on a bigger role in New Orleans’ offense with Hill sidelined, but his versatility will be difficult for offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak to replace. He may have to take some Hill-focused plays out of his playbook entirely with his unique offensive weapon absent from the lineup.
  • The Saints‘ offense stunned the NFL with its explosive start to the year, dropping 91 points on their first two opponents before cooling off in Weeks 3 and 4. Head coach Dennis Allen worked with Kubiak to simplify the offense for Derek Carr after years of complexity became ingrained in New Orleans’ system under Sean Payton and Drew Brees. Carr is making fewer adjustments at the line of scrimmage, while Kubiak has dialed up play action at a league-leading frequency.
  • Second-year Buccaneers linebacker SirVocea Dennis is not expected to return from injured reserve anytime soon, per Greg Auman of The Athletic. Dennis injured his shoulder over the summer but played in Tampa Bay’s first three games before leaving in Week 4 after aggravating the issue. The Buccaneers placed Dennis on IR on October 1, sidelining him through at least Week 8. Tampa Bay has relied on K.J. Britt to take on Dennis’ vacated snaps after the duo began the year splitting time on the field alongside veteran Lavonte David.
  • The Falcons restructured the contract of veteran defensive tackle David Onyemata recently, per ESPN’s Field Yates, creating $4.85MM of cap space. Onyemata remains tied to the three-year, $35MM deal he signed in March 2023. This update balloons the DT’s 2025 cap number to $16.93MM. For 2024, however, Atlanta now has just under $10MM in cap space, ranking 20th in the NFL.

Saints Rework Taysom Hill’s Contract, Expand His Offensive Role

June 16th, 2024 at 12:46pm CST by Rory Parks

The Saints went back to a familiar well to carve out some cap space for the 2024 season. As Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com reports, New Orleans converted just under $9MM of Taysom Hill‘s base salary into a signing bonus, thereby creating $6.59MM of cap room. Hill is under contract through 2025, and he now has $9.7MM of void year charges if he is not extended before 2026.

This marks the third time in three years that the Saints have reworked Hill’s pact, and it increases his chances of remaining with the club through the end of his current deal or landing another contract. If he were to be released as a non-June 1 cut next year, the Saints would incur $17.7MM of dead money.

Of course, the Saints likely have no desire to move on from their jack-of-all-trades weapon, who racked up 114 total receiving and rushing touches and 692 yards in 2023, both of which were career bests. He also completed six of 11 passes for 83 yards and accounted for seven total touchdowns.

Under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, Hill’s role could expand even further, as Matthew Paras of The Advocate details. During OTAs, Hill lined up as a running back — most of his career runs have come when taking the snap as a quarterback — and at fullback. His work at fullback naturally entailed his putting his hand in the dirt in a three-point stance and serving as a lead blocker. Just 29 of Hill’s 426 offensive snaps in 2023 came out of the backfield, and it sounds as if that might change in a big way in 2024.

Hill, who is entering his age-34 season, welcomes the new opportunities. “It’s been a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s weird to say after seven years of doing what I’ve been doing that I’m being asked to do things I’ve never done before. That is exciting to me and it’s challenging, and I love to be challenged like that. I’m grateful for those guys creating unique and fun opportunities for me.”

Kubiak & Co. will likely still give Hill a number of chances as a receiver, and it would be fair to expect him to get his customary handful of passing attempts as well. As always, training camp will shed more light on exactly what the team has in mind.

“Taysom has been phenomenal here early,” Kubiak said during rookie minicamp. “We’ve been kind of moving him in a lot of spots as he has his entire career. He’s a really intelligent guy, and we’re looking forward to giving him a lot of volume early. And then we’ll start narrowing it down as we get closer to the season.”

The Saints are now $12MM under the cap and have their entire 2024 draft class under contract, so they have plenty of room to operate (although they do have a contractual dispute with RB Alvin Kamara that will need to be resolved in some way).

NFL Injury Updates: Carr, Kupp, Beckham

September 27th, 2023 at 9:10pm CST by Ely Allen

After taking a big shot to his throwing shoulder in a Week 3 loss to the Packers, Saints quarterback Derek Carr is reportedly unlikely to appear when New Orleans plays host to the Buccaneers this Sunday, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. Backup quarterback Jameis Winston is set to start in his place.

Carr wasn’t necessarily struggling in his debut season playing for any team other than the Raiders, but he wasn’t striving either. After winning the first two games of the season, Carr was only averaging 266.5 passing yards per game with one touchdown and two interceptions. Protection had been a bit of an issue as he had been sacked four times in each of his first two starts with the Saints. This past weekend, that questionable protection led to the shoulder injury that’s expected to hold him out of this week’s game.

Winston will now, once again, take the reins of the Saints’ offense. Over four years with the team, Winston has appeared in 15 games: five coming off the bench and 10 as a starter. In his first season as a full-time starter in New Orleans, Winston started the season 5-2 while throwing 14 touchdowns and only three interceptions before a torn ACL would end his 2021 season early. Last year, Winston started three games despite reports of fractures in his back and went 1-2 with four touchdowns and five interceptions before spending the rest of the season as QB2 behind Andy Dalton.

Winston will get his chance to prove he can still be an effective starter in the NFL this weekend while Carr recovers. According to Nick Underhill of neworleans.football, no consideration has taken place in respect to moving hybrid tight end Taysom Hill to quarterback this week.

Here are some other injury updates from around the league:

  • ESPN’s Sarah Barshop provided an update today on the recovery timeline of Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp. She reported that head coach Sean McVay told the media that it is “the hope” that Kupp will be able to come off of injured reserve as soon as he is eligible to in Week 5. Kupp has missed the first three games of the season due to a hamstring injury and will have to miss this weekend, too, due to his stint on IR. McVay was hesitant to make any promises that might pigeonhole his All-Pro wideout, but the update is surely encouraging news for the Rams’ offense.
  • The injury woes will continue a little longer for Ravens wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. as ESPN’s Dan Graziano tells us that Beckham is likely to miss “another game or two” with the ankle injury that’s dogged him since the offseason. While Baltimore’s offense will have to do without Beckham, Graziano reports that running back Justice Hill has a chance to return this week from the toe injury that held him out of last week’s loss.

Saints QB Jake Haener Suspended 6 Games

September 6th, 2023 at 9:58pm CST by Ely Allen

The Saints’ rookie quarterback Jake Haener has reportedly been suspended for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances, according to Katherine Terrell of ESPN. Haener will miss the first six games of the season, making him unavailable until Monday, October 16.

Haener was drafted to New Orleans in the fourth round this year out of Fresno State, where he spent most of his college career after transferring from Washington. Haener made the team’s initial 53-man roster and was expected to take a role as the Saints’ third, emergency quarterback behind starter Derek Carr and backup Jameis Winston.

New Orleans recently made an announcement that hybrid quarterback/tight end Taysom Hill would officially be listed as a quarterback, according to another post from Terrell. Many were surprised by the move as he’s seen continued time in a heavily split role. With Haener becoming unavailable for a decent stretch of time, Hill’s official designation makes a little more sense. Until Haener returns for a Week 7 matchup against the Jaguars, Hill will likely fill the emergency quarterback role for roster purposes.

Haener claimed ignorance when addressing the violation, saying in a statement posted to his X account that he does “not know how the substance got into (his) body, as none of (his) supplements or prescribed medications contain the banned ingredient.” He went on to take responsibility for the failed test, nonetheless, accepting the punishment to come. The suspension will be an unpaid one, meaning Haener will miss out on $250K of his $750K base salary in his rookie year, according to Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune.

Saints’ Taysom Hill Content With Current Role

June 18th, 2023 at 3:09pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Saints’ offense will have a new look under center this year with Derek Carr in place. The process of tailoring the unit to the free agent addition has been an important one for New Orleans, but the team has once again been tasked with finding the right balance of alignments and playing time for Taysom Hill.

The veteran Swiss Army knife was, as expected, not used as a long-term option as a quarterback last season. Instead, he transitioned to more of a hybrid tight end role (albeit one which involved only nine receptions on 13 targets) last season. Hill’s most effective usage was on the ground, as usual. The 32-year-old registered 575 yards and seven touchdowns on a career-high 96 carries. More of the same in that regard is expecting heading into the coming campaign.

“I feel like we’re starting to figure out what is normal again,” Hill said, via John DeShazler of the team’s website. “I felt like ’20 and ’21 were so abnormal that I don’t know what that is now. We’ve had a lot of change here the last few years, and I feel like being here the last few days with the guys and the team, I feel like everyone is gelling really well… I think we’re trying to find this happy medium and happy balance of like, hey, let’s be realistic with what we’re going to ask you do to this season and make sure that you’re getting the time and the reps on those things.”

The Saints have Carr on the books through 2026 after making a splash in free agency to acquire him in March, and the team retained Jameis Winston as well. With those two comfortably atop the QB depth chart, Hill and the team’s coaching staff can turn their attention to his usage as a rusher and pass-catcher. More emphasis in the latter department would suit Hill as he looks to keep adapting his game, though.

“I think that’s kind of stuff that hasn’t been explored a ton with me here,” he added. “I think running routes and catching balls, that was a foreign thing for me and I also think because of that, we haven’t done a ton of it and I think there’s some opportunities there that we just haven’t explored yet. As I look at next season, I think the hope and the expectation is that that expands a little bit.”

New Orleans has a crowded TE room with Foster Moreau and Juwan Johnson each set to take up signficant snaps and targets. Hill will compete with those two for playing time in a pass-catching role during training camp, but his abilities on the ground as well as special teams figure to allow him to remain a key player in the Saints’ overall success. His restructured contract runs through 2025, so he should be in place in his current role for years to come.

NFL Restructures: Saints, Corbett, Grant, Eagles

March 5th, 2023 at 10:03pm CST by Ely Allen

The Saints restructured two contracts yesterday in an effort towards salary cap compliance, according to ESPN’s Field Yates. Both linebacker Demario Davis and tight end Taysom Hill have agreed to the new arrangements to lower their cap hit next season.

Davis is under contract through the 2025 season, Hill through 2026. Davis had another stellar season for the Saints in 2022. Since joining the team in 2018, he’s missed one game and been a first- or second-team All-Pro in every season but his first in New Orleans. The team converted $7.09MM of base salary for the 34-year-old’s 2023 season into a signing bonus, clearing $5.67MM in cap space off of his contract. He now holds a cap hit next year of $7.61MM with a base salary of $1.17MM.

Hill had another productive year as a Swiss-army weapon for New Orleans. The quarterback/tight end continued to show a much larger impact rushing than receiving but steeply declined in his passing numbers this year. The team converted $8.82MM of base salary for the 32-year-old’s 2023 season into a signing bonus, clearing $7.06MM in cap space off of his contract. He now holds a cap hit next year of $6.87MM with a base salary of $1.08MM.

The team still has several avenues it can explore to create cap space. Defensive end Cameron Jordan ($25.7MM), cornerback Marshon Lattimore ($22.4MM), guard Andrus Peat ($18.3MM), running back Alvin Kamara ($16MM), and quarterback Jameis Winston ($15.6MM) all hold cap hits over $15MM that could likely be restructured.

Here are few other recent moves as teams strive towards cap compliance:

  • After signing a three-year, $26.25MM contract a year ago, guard Austin Corbett has agreed to a restructured deal with the Panthers, according to Panthers staff writer Darin Gantt. Corbett contributed to a much-improved offensive line this season, starting all 17 games before suffering a torn ACL in the team’s last game of the year. The 28-year-old is working towards a return spending every day at the facility in recovery. Yates of ESPN reports that the team converted $7.72MM, consisting of his base salary and a $1MM roster bonus, into a signing bonus, freeing up $5.79MM in cap space. Corbert now holds a 2023 salary of $1.08MM and a cap hit of $5.16MM.
  • Yates’s above report on Corbett also mentioned the Browns recent restructuring of wide receiver and return-specialist Jakeem Grant. Grant missed the 2022 season with a torn Achilles tendon after signing a three-year, $10MM contract in the offseason. The renegotiated deal for Grant reportedly reduces his cap hit by $1.77MM.
  • Eagles center Jason Kelce is currently headed towards free agency or, potentially, retirement. Still, since Philadelphia has a habit of building voidable years into contracts in an effort to lessen the salary cap burden of deals, the team found it necessary to decrease that financial burden that Kelce’s expiring contract has on their future. According to yet another report by Yates, the Eagles paid Kelce a $3MM bonus yesterday, consisting of his $2.75MM 2023 roster bonus and $250,000 2023 offseason bonus, to reduce his 2023 cap hit. The move reportedly cleared up around $2.4MM of cap space for Philadelphia next season.
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