Category: Taysom Hill

Taysom Hill has made more money in the NFL than Lamar Jackson

Taysom Hill has made more money from his Saints contracts in the NFL than Lamar Jackson has gotten from the Ravens. But that’s about to change in a big way:

Few NFL players have had their contract scrutinized as closely as Taysom Hill. The New Orleans Saints utility player is bringing home $10 million each season on his current four-year deal with the black and gold, which is 13th among tight ends around the league (the position he lines up more frequently than anywhere else, also splitting time in the slot as a receiver, on special teams with the punt units, and in the backfield at fullback and occasionally quarterback).

All told, Hill has made $32,770,000 through six years in the NFL, per Over The Cap, with all but $5,000 coming from the Saints; the Green Bay Packers guaranteed him just five grand as an undrafted free agent out of BYU. He’s done well for himself in finding a role on a creative coaching staff, and it’s put him on the map.

That’s not stopping some pocket-watching, though. With high-profile franchise quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson working to secure their own payday, Hill is an easy target — the Gaming Society’s Kate Magdziuk pointed out that he’s earned almost exactly as much money as Jackson. The Baltimore Ravens franchise quarterback and 2019 league MVP has made $32,487,652 through five years in the league, per Over The Cap. It’s a difference of $312,348 between a player who has scored 42 touchdowns and played a combined 2,637 snaps in his career on offense and special teams (Hill) and another player who has scored 124 touchdowns while playing 4,009 snaps in his (Jackson). Jackson is unquestionably a more accomplished and more effective player, and it’s a shame that his pay doesn’t reflect that.

But this isn’t a very good comparison. The NFL collective bargaining agreement established a controversial rookie wage scale a decade ago that locked Jackson into a low-cost, four-year deal with a fifth year option once the Ravens drafted him. Because Hill was an undrafted free agent, he initially signed a modest three-year deal, re-signed with the Saints as a restricted free agent, and later inked another extension at his current level of pay.

Jackson is hard at work negotiating his own long-term deal, and he’ll be making more per-year than Hill has brought in during the entire course of his NFL career. If the rookie wage scale worked differently and set Jackson up for a lucrative second contract earlier, as was the case for Hill, he would have already signed the landmark deal he’s seeking. But the system is what it is. Hill was able to benefit from circumstances that many players haven’t been able to, and he’s still an important part of what the Saints are hoping to achieve. Jackson is on the way to receiving what’s owed to him, too. But will it happen in Baltimore?

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Taysom Hill’s restructured contract might make a Broncos trade tough to pull off

Taysom Hill’s restructured contract makes a trade tough to pull off. Time isn’t on Sean Payton’s side if he wants to make one of his favorite players a Bronco:

So how long will it take Sean Payton to trade for Taysom Hill? That’s been a common refrain in the weeks since Payton was hired as the Denver Broncos’ new head coach, and it’s easy to see why — he made no secret of his appreciation for Hill’s game when they were together on the New Orleans Saints. Hill was one of Payton’s favorite players in black and gold, and it kind of does feel like only a matter of time until he’s wearing navy and orange. He joked about trading for Hill before he even accepted Denver’s offer.

But the Saints’ decision to restructure Hill’s contract may have bought them some more time with No. 7. By converting most of Hill’s base salary into a signing bonus, they reduced his 2023 salary cap hit to just $6,869,000. But the downside (for interested Broncos fans, and possibly Payton) is that trading Hill now becomes cost-prohibitive for much of the offseason.

The Saints would have to fork over an addition $15,826,000 in salary cap penalties if they traded Hill before June 1 after this restructure, meaning he would be going to another team and leaving behind $22,695,000 in dead money on New Orleans’ spreadsheet. Denver would have to pay a ridiculously steep price in draft picks to make that worthwhile for the Saints. It just isn’t realistic, and it insures Hill will stay in New Orleans for the immediate future.

We aren’t out of the woods yet, though. If the Saints trade Hill after June 1, they will actually save a little money with a new team (like the Broncos) paying his $1,080,000 base salary. They’d be left with $5,789,000 in dead money this year and a staggering $16,906,000 next year, but they could be sweet-talked into accepting that if the compensation is strong enough. But you have to imagine Broncos general manager George Paton would step in and stop Payton from bartering with the first- or second-round picks it would probably take to get New Orleans to offload Hill.

And they didn’t have to do this restructure. If the Saints were open to trading Hill this offseason, it would have made more sense to leave his contract alone (with its $13,925,000 cap hit) until after June 1, at which point they could have traded him to another team like Denver and saved $9.9 million against the cap, fully getting him off their hands. That isn’t the route they chose, though.

So what does this mean? By restructuring Hill’s contract, the Saints have basically reinvested in him and made it clear that he’s in their plans moving forward. And he should be. There have been times when he was the most exciting player on the field with a fleur-de-lis on their helmet. He took over some games last season and proved he can be an asset with a heavier workload so long as the vision for his role is clear. Hopefully offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael doesn’t take so long to get him up to speed in 2023. The Saints are paying Hill too much money to have him on the sidelines.

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Never say never, but Sean Payton won’t trade for Taysom Hill any time soon

Never say never, but Sean Payton won’t trade for Taysom Hill any time soon. Hill’s contract with the Saints means any move makes more sense for the summer:

Never say never, but Sean Payton won’t trade for Taysom Hill any time soon. Or it’s more accurate to say that Payton can’t trade Hill in the immediate future. Hill’s contract with the New Orleans Saints means any move makes more sense for the summer: if the Saints trade him before June 1, they’ll be on the hook for $13,875,000 in dead money. Trading him to the Denver Broncos before free agency, the draft, and the first weeks of summer would save the team only $50,000 against the salary cap.

That’s not to say Payton won’t trade for one of his favorite players. The former Saints head coach as suggested as much himself, half-jokingly suggesting he’d be happy to take on Hill’s contract (which carries salary cap hits of more than $14 million in each of the next three years). Payton uncorked some really unique plays and personnel packages with Hill for New Orleans, and it checks out that he’d like to import the 33-year-old to his new Broncos roster.

In addition to the financial considerations, Payton doesn’t have much to offer the Saints in a trade right now. After trading for Payton and franchise quarterback Russell Wilson, Denver is left with a pittance of picks in the 2023 draft: a pair of third rounders and selections in rounds four, five, and six. Payton will want to hold onto those picks to spend on his own rookie players in a few months. It would probably take more than he’s willing to pay to convince the Saints to part ways with Hill at this stage in the offseason.

That’s not to say this will be the case later on. The Broncos own their first rounder in 2024 as well as picks in rounds three, four, five, six, and seven — double-dipping with third-, fifth-, and seventh-rounders. If the Saints want to wait to trade Hill until it’s easier for them to deal with the salary cap accounting, the Broncos can accommodate them with all of those future picks. By waiting to trade Hill until after June 1, the Saints can save $10.15 million against the salary cap while being left with a dead money hit of just $4.025 million. Those are real savings they could put towards inking their rookie draft class.

Which brings us to gauging Hill’s value. He’s coming off of his best year as a pro, having gained 575 rushing yards and scored 7 touchdown runs while picking up 77 receiving yards and scoring 2 touchdown catches — in addition to his 240 passing yards and 2 touchdown throws. And that’s without any consistent usage as Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael seemed to write him out of the game plan at times last season. Hill is also going to carry greater appeal to Payton than any other coach in the league given their preexisting relationship.

Hill would likely fetch more than a sixth rounder, which is what has been traded recently for backup quarterbacks like Gardner Minshew and Joe Flacco, because of his effectiveness as a utility player. Veteran tight end Zach Ertz was traded for a fifth-round pick in 2021, though he’s much more of a true tight end than Hill. There aren’t many other players like him around the league. So what’s appropriate value for him?

Let’s combine those two together and say one fourth-round pick beat a fifth and a sixth; after all, the Broncos would be getting a backup quarterback and a playmaking tight end (and slot receiver, fullback, special teams playmaker, and so on. You get the idea). If the Saints can hold onto Hill’s contract into the summer and get a 2024 fourth rounder back from Denver, saving more than $10 million against the cap in the process, that’s probably a win.

But it’s more complicated, as often feels like the case for this team. The Saints would have to keep Hill around on his salary cap hit of $14,175,000 through June in order to max out their savings. And it would be really difficult for them to trade for Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr with Hill’s contract taking up such a large chunk of their resources. They need to release a couple of players and restructure nearly a dozen more to fit Carr on the books, including Hill. If Carr is in their plans, Hill has to be, too.

So never say never. But the stars aren’t aligning in a way that sends Hill to Denver just yet. Payton could very well buck conventional wisdom and work something out with the Saints’ creative salary cap management team (led by football administration vice president Khai Harley) to get his way. Maybe he’d have to send the Saints’ third-round pick back to them in next year’s draft to make it happen. For now, though, it’s more of an elaborate daydream.

WATCH: Taysom Hill strikes first with a Saints touchdown run vs. Eagles

WATCH: Taysom Hill strikes first with a Saints touchdown run vs. Eagles

Now that’s more like it. The New Orleans Saints finally got aggressive on fourth down, handing the ball to Taysom Hill deep in Philadelphia Eagles territory. And it went so well that Hill gained 8 yards when he only needed 2 yards for the conversion. Now in a goal-to-go situation, the Saints kept it going with another run by Hill, who barreled into the end zone for the game’s first touchdown.

That capped an impressive 15-play drive which ate up 8 minutes and 58 seconds during the first quarter. It’s exactly what the Saints needed to do in a tough situation on the road against a Super Bowl contender. They need to keep making the most of their scoring opportunities and control the pace of play in a game with such high stakes.

Being more bold on fourth down will do a lot to help. The Saints went into this game with the fewest fourth down conversion attempts (9) in the NFL, having converted just 3 of them. As for Hill, this was 23rd touchdown run in a Saints uniform, tying running backs George Rogers and Rueben Mayes to rank eighth in franchise history.

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Taysom Hill only needed two carries to lead the Saints in rushing yards

It took too long for the Saints to give him a try, but Taysom Hill only needed two carries to lead New Orleans in rushing yards before scoring the equalizing TD:

See how easy that was? It took the New Orleans Saints far too long to get Taysom Hill going against the Cleveland Browns — he didn’t log a single rushing attempt until there were 3:24 left in the first half. But he only needed two carries to take the team lead in rushing yards, putting up 27 yards after gains of 11 and 16 yards.

Finally. Offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. adjusted in scoring position to keep Hill involved, getting the versatile playmaker up to 51 rushing yards from just 6 carries — an impressive average of 8.5 yards per attempt, with Hill hammering in the Saints’ first touchdown of the afternoon for the equalizing score.

It’s stunningly obvious what needs to happen here. With winds whipping the field and below-zero temperatures making it tough to throw, it makes sense to run Hill into the Browns defense early and often. There isn’t a defense in the league that wants to tackle him for two hours in the middle of winter. Having Hill as a legitimate threat on the ground changes how the Cleveland defense reads and reacts to the Saints’ plays, opening up their offense.

Points are going to come at a premium in this game. Running the ball to control the clock and make the most of scoring opportunities is the best path forward, and no one has run as well as Hill on Saturday afternoon. They need to keep it up.

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Taysom Hill made NFL history with his latest touchdown pass

Taysom Hill made NFL history. Including the playoffs, he’s the only player to score 10 or more TD’s as a passer, runner, and receiver since the league merger:

Now that’s impressive. Taysom Hill has built a reputation as a do-it-all utility player, but the New Orleans Saints dynamo has some proof to back up the chatter. CBS Sports found that Hill is the only player in NFL history to have scored 10 touchdowns as both a passer, receiver, and runner, including the playoffs. No one else has done that since the league merger in 1966.

Hill has appeared in 78 regular season games and 6 postseason matchups, for a total of 84 games — he went into Sunday’s game with the Atlanta Falcons with 42 combined touchdowns in his pro career. Here’s how they stacked up after his 68-yard touchdown pass to rookie receiver Rashid Shaheed:

Regular Season Postseason Combined
TD Passes 10 0 10
TD Runs 21 0 21
TD Catches 9 2 11

There have been many exciting talents to stand out in the NFL since its inception, but there’s only been one Taysom Hill. He deserves a lot of credit for finding his niche with New Orleans and becoming someone who can help them win football games. Let’s see what his next trick will be.

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Saints’ woes on third down are concerning, and struggles may continue

The #Saints haven’t converted more than 4 third downs in a game since Week 8. Here’s what they’ve been doing and how they could improve, via @RossJacksonNOLA:

Over the past few weeks the New Orleans Saints coaching staff has addressed a common thread. “We’ve got to be better on third down,” is a notion that has been commonly expressed by both head coach Dennis Allen and offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael. Over the course of the last four game, the Saints have not converted more than four third downs in a game. The last time they did came against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 8. Against them the Saints went 7 of 12 for an impressive 58% conversion rate. If you include first downs granted by penalties, the numbers boost to 8 of 13 for 61.5%, tying the NFL’s fourth best rate that week.

Since then, however, New Orleans has struggled on third down:

  • Week 9 vs. the Baltimore Ravens: 3/11 (27%)
  • Week 10 at the Pittsburgh Steelers: 3/12 (25%)
  • Week 11 vs. the Los Angeles Rams: 4/11 (36%)
  • Week 12 at the San Francisco 49ers: 4/11 (36%)

Over those four weeks, an additional 3 third down plays resulted in a penalty against the Saints and 1 first down was award by injury. That makes the Saints a combined 15 of 49 on third downs since Week 9. Ranking them No. 25 in third down conversion percentage during that stretch at a 30.6% clip.

The bad news for New Orleans is that these situational woes may continue. With five games remaining, the Saints will face three teams whose defenses rank in the NFL’s top-15 in third down stop percentage. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers rank No. 9 with the Cleveland Browns directly behind them at No. 10. The Saints’ Week 17 opponent the Philadelphia Eagles clock in at No. 15. As for the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans could catch a break against them as they rank at Nos. 20 and 30 respectively. However, New Orleans converted on 4 first downs in their Week 1 matchup with the Falcons and just 5 when they visited Carolina in Week 3.

So, things could continue to be a struggled Carmichael and his offense as the season goes along. Allen shared his thoughts on how the team’s struggles on third downs during his Monday presser. “You have to put yourself in positive situations,” Allen said. “And then when you’re in those situations you have to execute. And if you’re a step off, then those usually end up in non-conversions as opposed to conversions.”

The tricky part about that is that even when the Saints end up in positive situations, they often do not find the success they would expect. Here are how the Saints’ 49 third downs over the last four games has broken out. We’ll group them by down and distance and explore what New Orleans has done (or has not been doing) that has led to their struggles.

Saints report card: How we graded New Orleans in their Week 11 win

A heavy mix of Taysom Hill and Andy Dalton earns #Saints high marks in this week’s report card, via @RossJacksonNOLA:

That might have been the New Orleans Saints’ best game of the season. Sure, they shut out the Las Vegas Raiders three weeks ago, but this looked like a performance that was more about being better than the team across from you. The Los Angeles Rams are just as nicked up as the Saints from an injury perspective but New Orleans showed a lot of resilience in this win, particularly with their play in the second half. Here is our report card following the Saints 27-20 win over the Rams:

7 takeaways from the Saints’ much-needed win vs. Rams

While it’s still not time to look too far ahead, this was a much-needed win for the #Saints. 7 takeaways from their win vs. the Rams, via @RossJacksonNOLA:

It was an important win for the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Not because it keeps them alive in the NFC South division or keeps their playoff hopes alive, but simply because the team needed a complete game off of which to build some momentum and confidence. For the Saints, the 27-20 win over the Los Angeles Rams is one positive step in the right direction. If the team wanted to prove that they could be resilient and bounce back after so much adversity, they proved something to themselves today.

You will not hear anything from these players or coaches about their postseason positioning after this win. Instead, you will hear about good play that they can continue to build off of and there was a lot to like in this performance regardless of how banged up the opponent was. Here are our takeaways from a much-needed victory in New Orleans.

6 takeaways from the Saints’ 39-32 win over the Seahawks

Here are our 6 biggest takeaways from the Saints’ much-needed victory against the Seahawks, via @RossJacksonNOLA:

Finally snapping their three-game losing streak, the New Orleans Saints earned a much-needed win at home against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. With quarterback Andy Dalton again at the helm and several injuries around the roster, it was an informative win in regard to how the Saints may turn their season around. However, there are still clear improvements left to be made as well. Especially as the schedule gets much tougher. Here are our biggest takeaways from the 39-32 win over Seattle.