Glazer: Taysom Hill Will Be 'The Guy' at QB for Saints After Drew Brees Retires

When the New Orleans Saints signed Taysom Hill to a two-year extension last month, it was an indication the team believes he can be an option at quarterback if Drew Brees retires after 2020. 

Per The Athletic's Jay Glazer, head coach Sean Payton believes in Hill's ability to lead the offense when Brees decides to hang up his cleats:

"No smokescreen, he's the guy. Sean Payton loves him but it's not just him, the whole team loves him, not just Sean Payton. Watch a Saints game. When he's in the game, watch the other players on the sideline, watch their reaction. They all get up and stand on the sidelines to watch him. I think Sean was always hoping to unleash him on the league without anyone seeing him before but now we've seen it with Lamar Jackson. He's a bigger Lamar Jackson. No, it's not a smokescreen. He likes him that much, he'll be the guy. He's with the perfect coach for that."

Payton has been effusively praising Hill for some time, even comparing his skill set to former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young. 

"If you look back through Steve's career, people don't remember his time before he came into the NFL," Payton told reporters in August 2019. "You had a very athletic player that I think advanced when he got to San Francisco and he always had great ability with his legs."

The Saints solidified how highly they regarded Hill this offseason when they put a first-round tender on him as a restricted free agent, meaning any team that wanted to sign him would have to sacrifice their first-round draft pick. 

Brees, who signed a two-year deal worth $50 million in March to remain with New Orleans, has plotted out his post-playing career. Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reported last month the 13-time Pro Bowler will be an NBC analyst on Sunday Night Football after retiring from the NFL.

Hill, 29, has only attempted 13 passes during the regular season in three seasons. He set a career-high with 390 yards from scrimmage and seven total touchdowns on 46 touches in 2019.