Tag: Taysom Hill

Teddy Bridgewater fires back at Rex Ryan, moves on from 2019 with epic highlight reel

New Orleans Saints backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater put the 2019 season behind him with an epic highlight reel chronicling his top plays

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We’re on to 2020. That’s the message New Orleans Saints quarterback Teddy Bridgewater shared on Wednesday, along with an impressive cut-up of his best plays during the five-game stretch he started last season. The Saints were in a tight spot and had to lean hard on the backup, and he responded well by going undefeated in his time as the starting quarterback.

Not everyone was in on his chances to succeed. Bridgewater took a shot at former New York Jets and Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan in the same video, including a brief clip of Ryan appearing in an ESPN segment and emphatically writing him off.

When asked whether Bridgewater or Taysom Hill should step up during Drew Brees’ absence with a hand injury, Ryan said, “It better not be Bridgewater but I think it will be, and if it is, they’re not gonna win. I don’t like Teddy Bridgewater and I don’t think he can play.” The clown emoji edited onto Ryan’s face after that ill-advised hot take is just icing on the cake.

You can see Bridgewater’s new highlight tape where it’s embedded below, or at this link. Hopefully this isn’t his way of saying goodbye. His contract expires in March, but if the Saints are smart, they’ll find a way to renew it.

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Drew Brees turns 41 ahead of critical 2020 Saints offseason

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is celebrating his 41st birthday in Washington, D.C., supporting former teammate Steve Gleason.

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New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is celebrating his 41st birthday in Washington, D.C., where he’ll be supporting former teammate and Saints living legend Steve Gleason during a ceremony at Capitol Hill. Gleason is receiving the Congressional Gold Medal for his efforts in raising awareness of and promoting research in ALS, the degenerative nerve disease that he’s battled since 2011.

Brees and Gleason are two icons in Saints history, and the legacy Brees will leave behind when he steps away from the game is something that’s often been on his mind in recent years. He’s made a point to reach out to younger athletes ranging from LSU Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow and New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson to rising tennis phenom Madison Keys, doing what he can to recognize the next generation of star talent.

It all precedes what could be a tumultuous offseason in New Orleans. The Saints have suffered three frustrating playoffs exits in the twilight of Brees’ career, finally finding a winning formula after spending much of the 2010’s in mediocrity. Brees has admitted he’s playing on borrowed time right now, and is acutely aware that his window to win another elusive Super Bowl is closing.

All three Saints quarterbacks — Brees, Teddy Bridgewater, and Taysom Hill — will be free agents in March, barring contract extensions with the team. It’s possible the Saints find ways to retain each of them, but it won’t be easy. As always, the Saints are pressed for salary cap space, and Bridgewater can’t be expected to wait forever to take the reins once Brees hangs up his cleats. The team could be forced to make some dramatic personnel decisions in the months ahead.

But for now, we’ll focus on the greatness Brees has brought to New Orleans. He’s played 216 regular season games (and 15 playoff matchups) at a Hall of Fame-worthy level, putting himself among the greatest passers of all time. He delivered the first championship title in Saints history, seeing the team through a period of sustained success that past generations of fans could only dream about. On the occasion of his birthday, he’ll rightly take some time to reflect on how he’s gotten here, and what may be in store for him in the future. Saints fans should take that same approach and be thankful that they’ve even gotten here.

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Ex-Saints coach Mike Westhoff thinks Taysom Hill will succeed Drew Brees

Former New Orleans Saints special teams coach Mike Westhoff believes Taysom Hill could inherit the starting quarterback gig from Drew Brees.

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Mike Westhoff saw a lot during his long and storied NFL career, rising to prominence as a fiery assistant with the New York Jets before taking up Sean Payton’s offer to work as a consultant and de facto coordinator for the New Orleans Saints. He saw a lot of things and worked with many different athletes during his 32-year coaching career, but Taysom Hill offered something he hadn’t seen before: a quarterback with the athleticism and mindset to make a name for himself on special teams.

But even Westhoff didn’t anticipate Hill’s increased role in the Saints offense, but he liked what he saw in 2019. During an interview with The Zach Gelb Show on CBS Sports Radio, Westhoff shared his opinion that, yes, Hill has what it takes to succeed Drew Brees as the next starting quarterback for the Saints.

When asked whether he thinks Hill can continue to make strides and run a fully-formed NFL offense, Westhoff was enthusiastic in his support for that move: “I think he absolutely can be. I think he can be. Take a look at Baltimore. He’s the same kind of guy. Taysom Hill does those same things. I think he throws better (than Lamar Jackson). That’s the kind of football player he is. He was a very good quarterback at Brigham Young.”

The Saints made sweeping changes to their special teams coaching staff in 2019, parting ways with former coordinator Bradford Banta and his assistants. Westhoff wasn’t interested in working with the new coaches Payton brought in, instead contentedly resuming his retirement. But he knows enough about Payton to think the Saints are in good hands, and capable of retooling their offense similarly to how Ravens coach John Harbaugh operated after transitioning to Jackson after 11 years with Joe Flacco.

Westhoff continued: “I think he’ll be a heck of a quarterback, and I think you’ll see an offense that’s similar to Baltimore that can do a lot of different things. Sean Payton is an extremely qualified coach, and he’s very, very creative. Sean Payton is a good coach.”

The NFL is very much a copycat league, and it’s easy to envision a world where Payton expands Hill’s option-based package of plays to run with him as the full-time quarterback, taking inspiration from the diverse Ravens rushing attack. But it’s equally valid to wonder if Hill, who will turn 30 this year, can continue developing as a passer while the athleticism that’s won him so much acclaim inevitably begins to deteriorate. And the series of season-ending injuries he suffered at BYU can’t be overlooked, even if he’s responded well to a more-physical role than he dealt with in college.

So at the end of the day, this is just one former coach’s speculation. Westhoff made it very clear that he wasn’t relaying anything he’d heard from the Saints internally. He’s simply an experienced coach who has been pleasantly surprised by Hill’s abilities before, and wouldn’t rule out more surprises from the do-it-all quarterback in the future.

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2019 New Orleans Saints Awards: Team MVP, Most Improved

Some New Orleans Saints players stood out more than others, earning recognition as the Team MVP, Breakout Player of the Year, and more.

The New Orleans Saints finished the regular season as one of the best teams in the NFL, with a 13-3 record — just the fourth time in team history that they’ve won so many games. Unfortunately, the Saint ultimately fell to the Minnesota Vikings in the playoffs. We’re not going to let that get in the way of appreciating how well they played last season.

We narrowed the list down to the top seven most-deserving players. Awards for the season will include Most Valuable Player, Most Improved Player, Comeback Player, Breakout Player, and top rookies on offense, defense and special teams for the 2019 season. Without further ado, here’s who we’ve selected:

Most Valuable Player: WR Michael Thomas

Thomas set the all-time record for most receptions in a single NFL season with 149, breaking the previous record of 143 set by Marvin Harrison back in 2002. Thomas’ feat is even more spectacular when considering that backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater started five games in Drew Brees’ absence with a thumb injury. New Orleans’ offensive scheme started and ended with targeting Thomas all over the field through the air, and as such, he is an easy choice for the 2019 Saints MVP award.

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Is Taysom Hill the future at quarterback for the Saints? Probably not

The New Orleans Saints have tough decisions to make at quarterback, but betting the farm on third-string passer Taysom Hill isn’t the answer

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Taysom Hill is a very fun player to watch in the NFL. He runs, he catches, he chips in heavily on special teams, and he’s even asked to throw occasionally. It makes plenty of sense that he’s already become such a fan-favorite among New Orleans Saints supporters.

None of that is enough to suggest Hill is the future of the quarterback situation in New Orleans. Here’s the reality: Hill turns 30 in August and has only gone 7-of-15 as a passer in 34 regular season games. His biggest gains have required difficult adjustments by his receivers because he lacks the touch to put the ball out in front of them, hitting them in stride. He’s a limited passer. The list of players who continue to improve and have lengthy careers with his resume is almost nonexistent.

Yes, Hill showed improvement in last year’s preseason. He reacted better to pressure and hung out in a collapsing pocket to let his receivers’ routes develop further downfield. But few of the opposing players he stood tall against are still in the NFL, having made up third- and fourth-string units around the league. So far, he’s shown nothing to justify hinging the future of the franchise on.

And the Saints know that. While Sean Payton may offer fun soundbites comparing Hill to an all-time great like Steve Young, he’s also been quick to acknowledge that Hill’s best contributions come on the ground as a runner, as a receiver in the red zone, or on special teams as a heady athlete who’s eager to embrace contact. If Payton and the Saints believed in Hill so strongly, they wouldn’t have made such a strong push to recruit Teddy Bridgewater during free agency last offseason. They should make similar efforts this spring.

So, no, fans should not be putting expectations on Hill to be the next guy to step up after Drew Brees moves on. That’s just not fair to him. Celebrate Hill for what he is — a tough, throwback football player who defies position titles. He’s an important part of the team and arguably one of their best pieces in the receiving corps. He’s a staple of the punt and kick units. He’s arguably their best short-yardage ball-carrier. But it’s far from certain that he’s the long-term answer at quarterback, and he shouldn’t be treated as such. Let him continue doing what he does best.

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Saints 2019 season review: Drew Brees

We take a deep dive into New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees’ 2019 season that was marred by injury and highlighted by record-breaking games

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New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees had a 2019 season that was characterized by experiencing the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows. Brees started the season with a devastating injury to his thumb in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Rams that had many doubting the future of his career. Upon his return, he looked reinvigorated, and in Week 15 set the all-time record for most touchdown passes thrown.

Then came the playoffs. In the wild-card round, nearly every pundit had the Saints winning against the Minnesota Vikings, and those predictions weren’t close. Brees’ and the rest of New Orleans’ season came to a halting end after losing in a 29-23 upset against the Vikings.

Let’s take a deeper look into Brees’ 2019 season, and what it could mean for him and the Saints in 2020.

Level of play

Brees played to a MVP-caliber level after his return from injury in Week 8 against the Arizona Cardinals. When on the field, he was the most accurate passer in the NFL with a 74.3% completion rate, a feat that has become the norm for Brees. In December, he was rewarded for his high level of play when he won the NFC Offensive Player of the Month award.

Despite playing in only 11 games in 2019, Brees was still able to throw for 2,979 yards, and 27 touchdowns. Those 27 touchdowns were the fifth most thrown in the NFL in 2019. Again, an impressive stat when considering he played in five less games than almost any other quarterback on the list.

Turnovers were a double edged sword for Brees and New Orleans in 2019. The Saints set a NFL record for fewest turnovers in a season with eight, and Brees had a large part in that with protecting the football and making sound decisions. However, in the wild-card round, that trait disappeared for the quarterback. New Orleans was handicapped against the Vikings in large part due to Brees’ two turnovers, one in the form of a fumble, and one by an interception. Both came during promising drives that could have turned the tide of the game.

Despite the uncharacteristic struggles Brees faced in the postseason, the quarterback played to one of the highest levels he has experienced in his career. After another devastating postseason loss on the last play of the game, expect Brees to come out strong in 2020.

What to expect in 2020

Brees is an unrestricted free agent heading into the 2020 season, and many are wondering what his future may hold. With Teddy Bridgewater and Taysom Hill both free agents, many are advocating for the Saints to choose youth over experience. Still, Brees will be back in 2020 and most likely on a one-year deal with the Black and Gold. Next season very well could be his last regardless of what the outcome is.

2020 should bring a fully healthy Brees who will play 16 games, and at 41-years old, his production will be maintained in part because New Orleans will surround him with capable playmakers this offseason. The game plan for the quarterback will remain the same, and Brees should once again see a completion percentage above 70% and over 4,000 yards passing. Expect big things from the Benjamin Button-like quarterback.

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What should the Saints do with their 5 restricted free agents?

It’s time for the New Orleans Saints to make contract decisions on restricted free agents like Taysom Hill, Justin Hardee, and Austin Carr.

Many New Orleans Saints players are set to enter unrestricted free agency, giving them the opportunity to negotiate with new teams and potentially land a big payday. However, five of their teammates are going into March’s signing period with restricted free agency status. Here’s what that means.

Restricted free agents can negotiate with other teams, but their current squad can claim the right of first refusal through exercising one of several different one-year contract tenders. But the ability to match contract offers comes with a price.

The latest projections from Over The Cap suggest tender values in the range of $4,667,000 (for first-round pick compensation) to $3,278,000 (second-round pick compensation), and $2,144,000 (for original-round draft pick compensation). Those totals are fully-guaranteed against the salary cap.

New Orleans doesn’t have a good history with restricted free agency. They have only used the lowest tender level in recent memory, and rarely matched opposing contract offers. They let wide receiver Willie Snead leave uncontested when the Baltimore Ravens signed him to a two-year, $7 million deal in 2018. Backup tight end Josh Hill signed a three-year, $7.5 million offer sheet with the Chicago Bears in 2016, but the Saints matched it and extended him again in 2018.

They didn’t even tender defensive tackle Tyrunn Walker back in 2015, despite it only costing about $1.54 million at the time and Walker having shown some rare bright spots in a historically-bad defense (the Detroit Lions signed him to a one-year, $1.75 million deal, and re-upped him the next season). He’s an example of a player the Saints hoped they could keep on a veteran’s minimum salary, which is obviously a riskier option.

But things are projecting differently in 2020. There’s a good chance the Saints exercise one of the more-valuable tender options; in fact, they may have to. They could also work out long-term contract extensions if they so choose; Saints kicker Wil Lutz did just that last year, when he was a restricted free agent. Here are the five Saints players that qualify, and what the team should do with each of them.

Justin Hardee, cornerback

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Hardee’s had an interesting career path, and now he’s one of the Saints’ central special teams aces. He plays often on the punt and kickoff units, and led the team in snaps played in the game’s third phase (362) last season, outpacing even Craig Robertson (324) and Taysom Hill (286). He’s someone the Saints coaches have invested years of development in, and should definitely try to keep around for the future.

The question they have to ask now is how much Hardee’s contributions are worth. He doesn’t play defense (just 37 snaps logged last season) and is still learning the position’s finer points after entering the NFL as a wide receiver. He can’t be counted on just yet to be a top backup behind Marshon Lattimore and Janoris Jenkins. But his presence on special teams speaks for itself, and the Saints might do well to sign him to the lowest contract tender, then wait and see whether the market can set a price on his long-term contract value.

Verdict: Sign him to a right-to-match tender.

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Sean Payton discusses Taysom Hill’s increased usage, production

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton was as impressed as anyone by how versatile backup quarterback Taysom Hill responded in the playoffs.

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It’s tough to list bright spots from the New Orleans Saints’ disappointing loss to the Minnesota Vikings without mentioning dynamic sometimes-quarterback Taysom Hill. Hill was one of the best players of the game, and Saints coach Sean Payton acknowledged that while crediting Hill’s ability to make an impact at almost any position.

“My understanding is you can’t find a spot for him on your fantasy roster, so it’s probably difficult for the reality of it, too,” Payton joked during his end-of-year press conference on Tuesday. Hill’s designation as a quarterback on many fantasy football websites has clashed with his habit of “vulturing” touchdowns from the Saints skills-position players, having caught six scores in the regular season (plus another one in the playoffs).

The way Payton tells it, this wasn’t really the plan. But Hill kept impressing in practice and during games on special teams, so Payton began workshopping plays to involve Hill more heavily in the offense: “It wasn’t that we looked at him differently, but the more and more we kept watching him the more and more we thought ‘he’s one of our better players and he needs to be on the field.'”

Hill turned in his biggest performance yet for the Saints in Sunday’s wild-card round loss, and it was still on Payton’s mind days later. He continued, “That (usage) evolved even more to a point where, obviously there’s a read-option element to when he’s playing quarterback, to the deep pass he threw to Deonte (Harris) was something that we felt might have a chance. He’s got real good arm strength. He was exceptional Sunday, he was outstanding. He’s an exciting football player, he does a lot of things well, and I’m glad he’s on our team.”

That certainly doesn’t sound like a coach who’s about to let a player leave in restricted free agency. The Saints can retain Hill with one of several different one-year tender options, but it’s possible another team tries to sign him should the Saints pass on the first- or second-round compensatory pick tenders. Cutting corners to use the cheap, right of first refusal tender might not be the way to go here.

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Sean Payton shares his take on Drew Brees’ future in New Orleans

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton can’t say if Drew Brees will return to play quarterback in 2020, but he’s not expecting a resignation.

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There’s an elephant in the room, and New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton is aware of it. Payton held his end-of-year press conference on Tuesday, and took some time to acknowledge a complicated Saints quarterback situation.

Drew Brees and Teddy Bridgewater will be unrestricted free agents in March. Taysom Hill is going to be a restricted free agent. Payton admitted that, in a perfect world, all three quarterbacks would be retained in 2020. But that may not be a realistic situation, and he knows there’s a real chance one or two of his passers won’t return next season.

Brees is the biggest domino. The future Hall of Fame inductee played well after returning from an early-season hand injury, but his struggles in the playoffs loss to the Minnesota Vikings were disquieting. It’s anyone’s guess whether Brees will retire, but Payton passed on the opportunity to try and read his quarterback’s mind. All he can do is guess.

“I can’t speak for him, but I think he wants to play more,” Payton said during his end-of-year conference call. “We just saw him play at a very high level.”

While Brees hasn’t given Payton a firm indication either way, the Saints coach isn’t expecting a letter of resignation or anything dramatic: “I don’t anticipate this grandiose meeting and phone call soon.”

This is a decision Brees will want to take some time to decide. He’s spoken before about how this stage of his career is being played on borrowed time, and that his next pass could be his last. He and the Saints are acutely aware that their Super Bowl window is narrowing. Whenever he does decide what he’ll be doing next year, the Saints will have to move quickly not just on his contract, but deals with Hill and Bridgewater. It’s shaping up to be another eventful Saints offseason.

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Would the Saints use the franchise tag to keep Teddy Bridgewater?

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees as a clause against it in his contract, but could they use the franchise tag on Teddy Bridgewater?

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Few teams have a quarterback situation as complicated as the New Orleans Saints face in 2020. All three rostered passers are going to be free agents — Drew Brees and Teddy Bridgewater are scheduled to test the open market, while the team will likely have right-of-first-refusal status for Taysom Hill. No matter what happens, Brees and Bridgewater have a combined $25.3 million in dead money on the books for 2020, though that can could be kicked further down the road with new deals.

Brees, who turns 41 next week, has said he’ll continue to take things year-to-year. It’s a safe bet that the’ll return given how well he played in 2019 (even if Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer out-dueled him and Sean Payton in the playoffs), but it’s not a completely-sure thing.

It’s easy to argue that Bridgewater should return to New Orleans and continue to wait it out, having proven himself a worthy heir-apparent when Brees missed five games with a hand injury. But asking a young player to ride the pine for two years is easier said than done, and Bridgewater shouldn’t lack for options in free agency.

Teams that could part ways with incumbent quarterbacks include the New England Patriots, Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Carolina Panthers. Neither Tom Brady nor Philip Rivers have committed to returning to the Patriots and Chargers, while Raiders coach Jon Gruden is famously fickle with his quarterbacks. Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians publicly vented frustration with Jameis Winston, while new Panthers coach Matt Rhule may want to start fresh after Cam Newton missed more than a year with injuries.

Other teams like the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars are determined to go down with the ship, anchoring themselves to bad starters like Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles (though Gardner Minshew gives Jaguars coach Doug Marrone a life-line). The Cincinnati Bengals and Miami Dolphins are targeting quarterbacks in the draft, while the Tennessee Titans may have caught lightning in a bottle with Ryan Tannehill.

So Bridgewater should have more suitors than he heard from last offseason, when the only serious offer came from the Dolphins. And Miami simply wanted him to be a sacrificial lion in their tanked 2019 campaign; Ryan Fitzpatrick played that role instead. It would be a serious stunner if the Saints can recruit Bridgewater into sticking around another year as a backup.

Even more unlikely is their option to use the franchise tag. It would guarantee Bridgewater more than $24 million in 2020 (official amounts are not yet set by the league office) but would keep him off the open market, and guarantee the Saints significant draft capital (two first-round picks) if another team tried to sign him. They’re already fairly cash-strapped, so this isn’t realistic.

An alternative could be the transition tag, which would fully-guarantee something north of $22 million. It offers the right of first refusal, allowing Bridgewater to negotiate a contract with another team which the Saints could opt to match. The downside is the Saints are left with no compensation should he leave. Even though the NFL is a business first and foremost, tagging Bridgewater to force him to remain with the Saints would be a huge reversal from the positive relationship he’s built with the team since they first traded for him. And for what it’s worth, Brees has a no-tag clause in his contract.

So neither of these options feel like routes New Orleans wants to take. The best situation for the team could be a repeat of the 2019 configuration; Brees and Bridgewater both return at depressed salaries (Brees drawing $20 million-plus as a starter, and Bridgewater getting around $8 million as a backup) while Hill plays on a low-cost restricted free agent tender. But that may not be a realistic expectation considering where each player’s career arc is trending.

Uncomfortable as it may be, fans will have to remain patient and let this process play out. We won’t know whether Brees or Bridgewater sign contract extensions until the free agent signing period is here, but the tag deadline (March 10, at 3 p.m. CT) is a date to circle on the calendar. Hopefully they work out something more amicable.

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