By Ross Jackson
With their new head coach in place, the New Orleans Saints will have several tough decisions to make in their roster.
Head coach Kellen Moore will have his hands full as he steps into his new role. While much of the focus is on the decision regarding veteran quarterback Derek Carr, other important choices linger.
A massive one looms with the future of do-it-all tight end Taysom Hill.
Hill suffered a major injury in the team’s Week 13 loss to the Los Angeles Rams when he took a shot to the knee. The hit forced the joint to bend awkwardly and it led to him being carted off the field after the medical staff evaluated him for an extended period.
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport made mention of this same dilemma for New Orleans in his recent report on Moore taking the head coach position.
“They have a decision coming on Taysom Hill,” Rapoport said. “Hard to imagine he’d be back in New Orleans, but I guess anything is possible.”
Hill, 34, has battled back from season ending injuries before, both in college and the pros. But at this point in his career, one has to wonder what the future holds for the talented playmaker. The typical return timeline for an NFL player after ACL surgery, which Hill underwent in December, is nine months to a year.
Former Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi told local media just before the new year that his surgery went well. “I got double thumbs up with the surgery, there are no complications,” he said. Which is great news, but there’s a difference in the surgery going well and a return to the physical demands of the NFL.
That timeline also assumes that the ACL repair was all that needed to be done. With initial reports that there may have been additional knee damage, the demands of the surgery and recovery could be even more cumbersome.
Now, New Orleans will have to make a choice. Is a near $18 million cap hit worth it for a talented player that may not be available for the majority of the team’s season? The question becomes particularly poignant once it’s realized that Hill’s entire $10 million base salary is non-guaranteed.
What decisions the team can make while he is still recovering from surgery are uncertain. But if they have to make the choice to part ways or if Hill makes the decision to call it a career, the fallout looms large. Hill has been a shining light on the field while New Orleans has otherwise struggled to consistently produce. Any agreed-upon split, regardless of the mechanism, will be one of the toughest stories of the offseason.
The team could also choose to pursue a salary reduction based on his expected return and contribution level, thereby keeping him on the roster at a reduced rate. If Hill does decide to retire, as some think he might, the first indication of that would be to see the team reduce his base salary from $10 million to veteran minimum. This has been the precursor to the retirements of former Saints like quarterback Drew Brees and safety Malcolm Jenkins. It was also done earlier this offseason, setting up the expected retirement of right tackle Ryan Ramczyk.
