New Orleans Saints Specialist Taysom Hill answers a question during a press conference after the NFL Football game against the Rams on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022 at the Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans, La. (Hunter Dawkins/The Gazebo Gazette via AP)

by Hunter Dawkins, Owner/Publisher – editor@thegazebogazette.com or hdawkins@supertalk.fm

NEW ORLEANS (GG) —After 9 years in New Orleans, the NFL franchise possibly loses the most versatile player in the history of the Saints, Taysom Hill.  In good times and bad, Taysom played every game passionately and single-handedly helped the Saints win games the team probably had no business.

Upon completion from Brigham Young University (BYU) injury-prone career in 2016 where he scored 75 touchdowns in 5 years as a quarterback, Hill went undrafted but signed a practice squad contract with the Green Bay Packers in 2017.  With New Orleans Coach Sean Payton seeing something no one else did, the Saints selected the “Swiss Army Knife” off waivers and the rest was history.
Just to put this down on statistical terms, Taysom played in 118 games in 9 years, threw 12 touchdown passes, ran for 34 touchdowns with 2551 yards, and caught 110 passes with 11 touchdown receptions.  Additionally, on defense or special teams, he had 19 tackles and 9 fumble recoveries similar to video game numbers.  Despite the team only reaching the playoffs 4 of those 9 seasons, Hill was focused on the positives of his teammates and building up the team even after his departure.
“I feel incredibly fortunate to have worked alongside so many great people,” expressed Hill after the announcement of his departure Wednesday, July 29.  “What I will remember most are the relationships I built with so many people throughout the organization.”
In the ghosts of legendary NFL Hall of Famer Jim Thorpe, Taysom became the only player in the Super Bowl era to amass 1,000 career receiving, rushing, and passing yards.  Undoubtedly, the Saints organization needs a player with the positive humility and numbers like Taysom Hill in the franchise Hall of Fame.
To conclude, Taysom mentioned to me after a 2024 press conference of how proud he was for former New Orleans Saints Quarterback Drew Brees to be inducted into the franchise Hall of Fame.  The humility of one friend to the next provided a glimpse of what sports should be focused on with fellowship and camaraderie instead of individual gratification.
There will be great players for the New Orleans Saints organization that roam the Superdome Sundays, but there will never be another “Swiss Army Knife.”
Photos by Hunter Dawkins/The Gazebo Gazette via Associated Press