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Rod Walker: A farewell to Taysom Hill. There'll never be another Saints player quite like him. 3%
By Rod Walker
7/31/2026, 3:00:00 AM
BS Summary: This article contains 9 faulty reasoning types, including Overconfidence Bias, Hindsight Bias, and Hasty Generalization, with Halo Effect as the most egregious example at 8.7% saturation with 100 hits. Analysis detected 363 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,150 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 13.3% and a BS Rank of 3% (22,198 of 22,832 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 97.20% of the article peer group.
Forget about all those positions you saw listed in front of Taysom Hill’s name for the past nine seasons.
Quarterback.
Running back.
Tight end.
Kick returner.
Punt protector.
You name it, Taysom Hill did it.
But the best way to describe Hill is this: a football player.
And one of the most unique to ever put on a New Orleans Saints uniform.
Hill can’t throw like Drew Brees or run like Alvin Kamara or catch like Marques Colston or return kicks like Michael “the Beer Man” Lewis.
But he can play some football.
His time with the Saints officially came to an end Wednesday when he announced on social media that he won’t be returning to New Orleans.
He didn’t say he’s retiring, just that returning to New Orleans “is not in the cards.”
The announcement by Hill, who is a free agent, didn’t really come as a surprise.
The hints had been there ever since December, when coach Kellen Moore made sure to let Hill go out with a bang in what ended up being his last game as a Saint in the Superdome.
Hill choked up with emotions during the postgame news conference that day after throwing a touchdown pass, running for 42 yards and hauling in 36 yards worth of receptions.
And if that wasn’t enough of a clue that the end was near, it became clearer when his house in Old Metairie was put up for sale in the spring.
Then on Wednesday, the first day of training camp, fourth-string quarterback Hunter Dekkers was at practice wearing No.
7.
It’s a number that Saints’ fans grew to love over the years because of Hill.
The Saints will celebrate the team’s 60th season this fall.
In the previous 59, there has never been a player quite like Hill.
And there won't be one like him in the next 60.
Hill, in that final game in the Dome, became the first player in the Super Bowl era to have over 1,000 yards in each of the following categories: rushing (2,551 yards), passing (2,426) and receiving (1,034).
He also finished his career as a Saint with 489 yards on kickoff returns.
Oh, and he also blocked two punts and recorded 19 tackles.
“And he never complained,” said Saints tight end Juwan Johnson.
“That’s one of the things I always valued about his character.
He just did what he was supposed to do.
He just came out and did his job.”
Hill is the ultimate do-it-all throwback player, which he proved in 2023 when he became the first player since the late Frank Gifford to throw 10 career touchdown passes, rush for 10 touchdowns and catch 10 TD passes.
Gifford, who played for the New York Giants from 1952-1964, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977.
Hill won’t get that opportunity.
He’s ineligible for the Hall of Fame because only players who were recognized with postseason honors like Pro Bowls or All-Pro awards can be nominated for induction.
But Hill will no doubt get inducted into the Saints Hall of Fame as soon as he’s eligible.
The Saints social media team referred to Hill as “Mr.
Football” in a farewell video posted on Wednesday, and there is really no better way to describe him.
Hill was as tough as they come.
The long list of injuries his chiseled 6-foot-2, 221-pound body battled through would fill up a textbook for an anatomy class.
Knee sprain, concussion, plantar fascia injury, fractured finger, bruised ribs, strained abdomen, fractured ribs, knee and shoulder.
But his toughness and resiliency are what got him this far in the first place.
Undrafted players aren't supposed to have this type of success.
His story is well documented, starting with him being at the Green Bay Packers training camp in 2017 after not hearing his name called in the draft.
The Packers let him go towards the end of camp.
One day later, former Saints coach Sean Payton took a chance on him.
Hill never became the quarterback Payton envisioned, but Payton found a unique Swiss-Army knife role for him.
The rest is history.
Moore, entering his second season as Saints’ head coach, got a chance to coach Hill last year.
“He’s a phenomenal person, player and competitor,” Moore said Thursday.
“… The impact he’s had on this community has been awesome.
He’s a guy that a lot of our guys can look to as an example of growing in the NFL and finding roles and finding opportunities.
Everyone over the last two years has been saying ‘Let’s find the next Taysom.’
But there is just one Taysom.”
Well, there is just one Taysom in the NFL.
But because of how beloved he became, there are plenty of other Taysoms across Louisiana now.
A story in The Times-Picayune five years ago by former co-worker Amie Just reported that there were 17 babies born in the state of Louisiana named Taysom in 2019.
There were 24 more babies named Taysom the following year.
Jacobi Martin, a diehard Saints fan who lives one state over in Mississippi, named her son Taysom in 2021.
“Taysom was just pure football,” Martin said.
“And he didn’t complain.
He gave us fans so much hope and kept us on the edge of our seats.”
Martin was planning to bring her son to a Saints game this season so he could meet the guy he was named after.
Wednesday’s announcement by Hill dashed those plans.
“Honestly, I cried,” Martin said.
“It’s hard to imagine game days without Taysom time.”
Saints' linebacker Kaden Elliss knows Hill well.
Elliss has played both with and against Hill.
The two were teammates in New Orleans from 2019-2022.
Elliss spent the past three seasons with the Atlanta Falcons before returning to the Saints this offseason.
Elliss remembers how much extra time went into game preparation for Hill whenever the Falcons would play the Saints.
“You just never knew where he was going to line up,” Elliss said.
“And then you add on top of that, there are a lot of body types that you can do that with in the NFL.
But they can’t do it the way he did it.
When (others) touch the rock, they aren’t a threat to go 60 yards for a touchdown run or throw it 60 yards for a touchdown.
So that’s what was so difficult.”
If Hill ends up on another team, Elliss could possibly face him again.
Regardless, Hill will be remembered forever as a Saint.
“To do all those things is one of one,” Elliss said.
“Maybe there will be another (Taysom) one day.
But I don’t see it anytime soon.”
And Saints fans, you shouldn’t expect to ever see another one like Taysom Hill again, either.
Email Rod Walker at rwalker@theadvocate.com.
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