Taysom Hill Gives Saints Exciting Option for Post-Drew Brees Era

In the next year or so, the New Orleans Saints will embark on a journey into the unknown. It's a journey the team would just as soon not take. But Father Time spares no one, and whether the Saints like it or not, the Drew Brees era will soon end in the Big Easy.

For the quarterback, it will mean the beginning of the five-year wait for his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. For the team, it means the unenviable task of replacing the best player the franchise has ever known.

If recent reports are to be believed, the Saints have a plan for it post-Brees life. And while it's not a sure bet, turning over the reins to Taysom Hill has considerable potential.

John Amis/Associated Press

Make no mistake: If New Orleans has things its way, Brees will be back under center in 2020. And the 41-year-old told the NFL Network's Jane Slater (via colleague Kevin Patra) that if he does return in 2020, it will be with the Saints.

"I have never been in the situation where I was mulling over the thought of [returning to New Orleans]," Brees said. "To me, each one of these contracts, I don't know how many it's been with the Saints, I've played with them 14 years, it's not a matter of if it gets done, it's when. At this stage of my career, it's not a given that I'm coming back every year, but when that time comes, I'll always be a Saint."

Just about all of the tea leaves point toward a 2020 Brees return. The Saints have said they want him back. Given the disappointing end to the 2019 campaign, it's easy to imagine Brees wants to take one more run at a second Super Bowl ring. And while he missed five games with a thumb injury in 2019, he showed he can still play.

However, just because Brees will probably be back in 2020 doesn't mean the Saints lack a plan of succession.

While appearing on The Herd with Colin Cowherd this week, Jay Glazer of Fox Sports said (via John Hendrix of Saints News Network) New Orleans views Hill as its future quarterback.

Glazer said of the three-year veteran:

"They do have their quarterback of the future on the roster too. That quarterback will be Taysom Hill. Taysom, they believe is a franchise quarterback, and especially you've seen what Lamar Jackson has been able to do, so they think they have him here. But, Sean (Payton) has been very, very clear. If Drew wants it, we want Drew, we still want Drew as long as Drew wants to go. So, this isn't a situation like the other guys where they're kind of pushing them out the door, they are welcoming him with open arms if he wants to come back."

Butch Dill/Associated Press

On some level, it's a little surprising that Teddy Bridgewater's name didn't come up after the 2014 first-round pick won all five of his starts while filling in for an injured Brees in 2019—throwing for 1,384 yards and nine scores with a 99.1 passer rating for the year.

But the Saints are looking at some harsh financial realities. Per Over the Cap, New Orleans has $10.8 million in available salary-cap space for 2020. Both Brees and Bridgewater are unrestricted free agents, while Hill is a restricted free agent.

Simply put, they can't bring back all of those players—especially given the contract Bridgewater will command after his 2019 success. The Saints will also have right of first refusal (and draft pick compensation) for any offer Hill gets.

But even though the marriage with Hill might be of the arranged variety (after a fashion), that doesn't mean both he and the Saints can't be happy together.

Over the past couple of seasons, Hill has become a fan favorite in New Orleans—a jack-of-all-trades who lines up out wide and as a Wildcat quarterback, and even plays on special teams. In the Saints' wild-card loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Hill carried the ball four times for 50 yards, caught two passes for 25 yards and a touchdown, and threw a pretty 50-yard pass.

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The playoffs: where a 3rd string quarterback can hit a 50 yard pass to an undrafted punt returner  Taysom Hill with the BOMB to Deonte Harris pic.twitter.com/Lfei4PxzMy

— TheCheapSeats  (@The_Nose_Bleeds) January 5, 2020"

That last part seems especially important if Hill's going to go from gadget player to full-time quarterback. In his NFL career, he has attempted just 13 regular-season passes and has yet to throw a touchdown in a game that counts.

This doesn't mean he can't throw, mind you—he passed for 2,323 yards and completed 59.7 percent of his passes in 2016 at BYU. But it's been a while since he threw the rock with any regularity. It will take reps—both on the practice field and in games—for Hill to hone that skill.

That's the biggest part of the reasoning that handing the 2021 reins to Hill carries heavy risk.

But Hill's shown potential as a passer. And a runner. And a receiver. It's that potential that has the Saints considering this bold move at the game's most important position.

Quarterbacks who can hurt teams with both their legs and arm—whether it's by rushing the ball like the Ravens' Jackson or by extending plays before the throw like Patrick Mahomes of the AFC champion Chiefs—have taken the league by storm.

No one with any sense is putting Hill in that class—or anywhere close. But the potential's there to create the same kinds of problems for defensive coordinators who will have to respect Hill's ability to run and (if things go according to plan) his ability to hurt them over the top if they respect it too much.

Never mind that we could finally see a quarterback split wide in a Wildcat formation who is a genuine threat to catch the ball.

Offensive success depends more than ever on creating mismatches and thinking outside the box. That's exactly what general manager Mickey Loomis, head coach Sean Payton and the Saints are doing by looking to Hill as their future quarterback after roughly a decade-and-a-half with one of the greatest classic pocket passers of all time in charge.

There's no guarantee that such a bold strategy will pay off.

But fortune, as they say, favors the bold.