JACKSON: Taysom Hill’s future should be in New Orleans
05/06/2025
By Ross Jackson
One of the biggest questions still surrounding the New Orleans Saints ahead of the 2025 NFL season comes down to do-it-all weapon Taysom Hill.
The versatile offensive chess piece suffered a severe knee injury in the team’s Week 13 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. With such a late season injury, the first major question centers around his return timeline. With an injury that typically takes between nine and 12 months to heal, the expectation is that Hill will not be ready for training camp or the beginning of the season.
In fact, a September to December return seems most likely, as returning from the injury is only the first hurdle. Not being able to participate as the season begins, should that be the case, is likely to end in Hill being added to the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list to begin the season. The designation means he’ll have to miss a minimum of four games, and only then could his three-week practice window begin, at the earliest.
So, it is possible for Hill to make his return to the field in 2025. But it will take some time. That much was stated by general manager Mickey Loomis in his pre-dedraft media availability.
“(Hill’s) got a serious knee injury,” Loomis said. “So it’s going to be a while.”
With that, the next question becomes about Hill’s contract, which is a matter that has welcomed a lot of speculation. The Saints could potentially look to rework or adjust his contract to reflect his unavailability for the season. A restructure would save $5.8 million and a post-June 1 cut or trade would save the team $10 million.
Taysom Hill currently has a $17,986,500 cap hit, which is 2nd highest on the team. The Saints have a big decision to make here…
They would save $10 MM if he was a post June-1 cut or trade
Restructuring him would only save you about $5.8 MM pic.twitter.com/yJNUw5M3oq
— Trizzy Trace (@tracegirouard48) May 5, 2025
While those numbers may seem enticing, is ditching one of your club’s best players worth it when the team already has north of $27 million available? With little need for major spending left in free agency and the rookie class as the biggest remaining expense, there’s little reason to release or restructure Hill’s deal, keeping him on the books beyond what was once expected.
Hill has just one year remaining on his deal which has been restructured in previous seasons. But as his contract expires, he’ll leave less than $10 million on the books for 2026. Not a bad situation.
The most logical scenario may actually be, if a pay reduction or reworked contract aren’t possible, to simply carry his $17,986,500 cap hit through 2025. Hill’s contract isn’t currently a burden to the Saints, and with the team already well under the salary cap, it shouldn’t be a reason to cut ties or push money into future years.
Taysom Hill: Football player.
🎥 https://t.co/KlYFEtTVGF pic.twitter.com/kKZhlxjJ4r
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) January 17, 2025
Hill has a lot of value for this team when he’s on the field. Despite several major injuries in his past, he’s led the team in combined rushing and receiving touchdowns since 2022 and has been in the top-three of that count since his first season with the team.
In fact, you’d have to go back to 2014 (before he even joined the team) to find a 10-year span where he wasn’t top two in rushing and receiving touchdowns (44). To find a range where he drops out of the top three altogether, you’d have to go all the way back to 2011–2024, and even then, he only falls to No. 4.
And he’s also an emergency quarterback for the team who may be staring down the inevitability of a very young signal caller depth chart. Having an emergency passer with a 7-2 career record isn’t a bad situation to be in.
It may well be the final season of Hill in New Orleans, but he deserves to have it. The Saints should look to keep him around for as many games as he is healthy for the next year and reassess where things sit as he exits his age 35 season afterward.