With Teddy Bridgewater ready to take on a potential starting job in 2020, free agency, the Saints of New Orleans seem to take all the precautions to ensure that their other quarters of reserve remain.
ESPN Adam Schefter reported On Friday, the Saints plan to use a restricted first round free agent tender on QB Taysom Hill # 3, which means they will receive a first round pick in the event that another team offers a contract to Hill and that the Saints would refuse to match the offer. Not only that, Schefter added, but they are already operating in the frame of mind, they will see Hill locked in a separate contract extension before the start of free agency on March 18.
Saints coach Sean Payton said earlier this offseason that he expected Hill’s contract “to take a little more work” than that of starter Drew Brees, an imminent free agent who is has already stated that he would return to New Orleans. But it’s clear the Saints want Hill to be in the building, previous reports saying the team even wanted Brees to help “pass the torch“to Hill in 2020-2021. Hill himself said that he believes he is a “franchise quarterback” – with a possible future in this role in New Orleans.
In a first-round tender, Hill would be able to earn about $ 5 million in 2020, per Schefter. While that number barely comes close to that of the highest paid backups in the NFL, it would mark a big increase for the fourth-year veteran, who cost New Orleans only $ 645,000 in 2019.
Not out of BYU in 2017, Hill, 29, spent his off-season rookie with the Green Bay Packers before landing with the Saints earlier this year. He only threw 13 career assists for a career QB rating of 46.6, but as a utility and occasional replacement for Brees, Hill flourished playing multiple positions, representing 390 yards – including 234 as receiver – and seven touchdowns in 2019.
