Potential Saints free agent target Breece Hall to be tagged by Jets

By Ross Jackson

One very popular free agency signing that some have identified for the New Orleans Saints to pursue has been New York Jets running back Breece Hall. However, it appears Hall won’t be escaping the Big Apple anytime soon.

Jets general manager Darren Mougey spoke at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday and expressed his desire to keep Hall in New York, including leveraging the franchise or transition tags as a means to get a long-term deal done.

Darren Mougey says that Breece Hall will be with the #Jets next season. If they can’t sign him, then they will tag him.

Hall going nowhere

— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) February 24, 2026

While the Jets and Hall look to work out an extension, Mougey has made it clear that he intends to tag the running back if the two sides don’t come together on an agreement. That would keep Hall with the Jets for at least another season, simultaneously opening up more time for the two to negotiate a new contract.

If the Saints want to pursue a top-tier running back in free agency, which isn’t exactly a necessity for the team who could look to the draft instead, they’ll have to do so without Hall in mind.

Currently available running backs that the Saints could look to go after include Jacksonville Jaguars back Travis Etienne Jr., Carolina Panthers rusher Rico Dowdle and Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell. 

The Saints still have a long list of running backs set to return for 2026 already under contract. But if the team intends to deepen its talent pool, the list of available options has begun to shrink.