For the first time since he entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2017, Taysom Hill isn’t headed to training camp with the rest of the league.
Is it possible the Swiss Army Knife has played his final snap?
The former BYU quarterback became an unrestricted free agent in March, and since then, there’s been no news about his future on the gridiron.
During his nine seasons with the New Orleans Saints, he earned the reputation as a do-it-all team player — running the ball, throwing passes, catching passes, blocking and playing special teams.
It made him a versatile weapon, one that gained him recognition around the league. He’s the first player in the Super Bowl era to reach at least 1,000 career rushing, receiving and passing yards.
Now there are questions whether Hill, who turns 36 in August, will play again — and where his mindset is through all this after an electrifying career that’s all included its fair share of injuries.
Would returning to the Saints be something that’s still on the table?
That possibility seems less likely. In May, Hill listed his family’s house in Metaire, Louisiana, for sale, according to The New Orleans Times-Picayune’s Matthew Paras.
During the start of a three-day minicamp in June when asked about the possibility of re-signing Hill, New Orleans coach Kellen Moore told reporters, “We haven’t necessarily had any conversations up to this point, but you never know.”
Hill is a unique player in the modern game — he’s rushed for 2,551 yards and 34 touchdowns over nine seasons, while also catching 110 passes for 1,034 yards and 11 more scores.
The onetime quarterback has also completed 63.3% of his passes for 2,426 yards and 12 touchdowns as a pro.
In late January, Saints general manager Mickey Loomis talked about Hill’s impending free agency and his future.
“I’m giving him some space, so I’ll talk with him. But it’s hard to have these conversations right after the end of the season,” Loomis told ESPN’s Katherine Terrell. “You want to let the emotion go out of it and not have them feel like they’re pressured to make decisions.”
The 2025 season brought about its own challenges.
Hill was coming back from a devastating knee injury that included a torn ACL and other structural damage he suffered near the end of the previous season. While the bulldozing athlete still was a part of New Orleans’ game plan, he averaged a career-low 2.2 yards per carry and didn’t show the same amount of strength and burst he had in previous seasons.
Following his return to action in early October, Hill, who has two boys with his wife Emily, talked about keeping things in perspective as he contemplates both playing football and family life.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s a loaded question, you know, and it’s a hard one to appropriately answer in a quick second like this. But I love playing football. Football has given me and my family some incredible experiences and given us incredible opportunities,” he said, following a 26-14 win over the New York Giants. “And you realize that football, there’s a shelf life to doing this.
“And (I) had a lot of conversations with the organization this offseason, and with Kellen and Mickey and you know, I wasn’t ready to walk away. They still had a vision for me here, and so I told him I was going to do everything I could to make sure I could still help the team win.”
Two and a half months later, when the Saints played their final home game of the season at Caesars Superdome in late December, Hill was visibly emotional when talking about this being a potential farewell to New Orleans for the fan favorite.
“As I was driving to the stadium today, you begin to think about the last nine years and what it’s meant to me and my family, this city and stuff. For me, personally, you just try to take it all in,” Hill said in his postgame press conference.
“I had a great experience here tonight and I don’t know what the future holds for me, but it was a special day for me and the family.”
Hill had his best game of the season in that 29-6 win over the New York Jets. He ran for 42 yards on 12 carries, caught four passes for 36 yards and threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Chris Olave.
“My entire family was here for the game. I feel a lot of love and support from people around me, that’s for sure,” Hill said.
If Hill ultimately does continue his career and finds a willing suitor to sign him, where might he end up?
Recently, two media outlets speculated about possible landing spots for him.
One involved reuniting with Sean Payton, the former Saints coach who was instrumental in finding creative ways to get Hill involved. Payton is now the head coach of the Denver Broncos, though he’s handed offensive playcalling duties over to coordinator Davis Webb.
The Denver Post’s Luca Evans and Parker Gabriel made a list of 12 hot takes for the Broncos this season, with six predictions each.
Evans predicted Hill would join Denver midseason.
“Payton loves his guys. Hill, a quarterback-turned-something who played a key part in Payton’s offenses late in his time in New Orleans, is one of his guys. He is also currently unsigned, and his NFL career might be over at 35 years old after a season averaging 3.3 yards per offensive touch with the Saints," Evans wrote.
“At least one interesting name seems to find its way into Payton’s locker room every season with depth necessities, though. Remember Marcedes Lewis last year? I have no idea what role Hill would play, or if he’d even get a snap in 2026. I’m just thinking it’ll happen.”
The other potential landing spot doesn’t have ties to Hill’s NFL past.
On a recent episode of The Krueg Show, run by Larry Krueger, a sports talk radio host who covers the San Francisco 49ers, Damon Bruce suggested San Francisco add Hill to its arsenal of offensive playmakers.
“When I look at what they need, I think they need another tight end before they need another wide receiver, even the one that would be as good as Stefon Diggs,” Bruce said. “I just think that (49ers quarterback Brock) Purdy needs another target in the middle of the field.
“... Obviously, an add like Taysom Hill wouldn’t be for the future, it would be for right now — for the next 18 games. That’s all it is. I’m not worried about how old he is or tread off tires or anything like that. As I’m just looking for offensive wrinkles and gadgets for (coach Kyle) Shanahan to play with, Taysom Hill is the ultimate gadget guy. I think he would be an interesting add."
These are speculations, though — potential solutions with the home NFL crowd in mind.
For now, the football world waits for answers.
