The speculation has made sense.
Taysom Hill is a free agent after his nine-year career with the New Orleans Saints, and football fans thought his logical next stop would be with the Denver Broncos — because they’re coached by Sean Payton, Hill’s original believer in the Big Easy.
It’s an easy connection and a fair one, but it doesn’t seem as if the Broncos have actually made inroads this season toward signing Hill.
A key piece of the NFL calendar just passed, though, when the NFL trade deadline arrived on Tuesday afternoon. Now, any additions to a roster for the rest of the season will come from free agency.
That’s where Hill waits, potentially seeking another contract.
And that’s where the Broncos could look if they want a tight end that they weren’t able to get before the deadline.
Broncos Wanted TE
Reports emerged earlier this week that the Broncos had pursued Arizona Cardinals superstar tight end Trey McBride before the deadline.
Arizona was always going to be unlikely to deal McBride, but it tells us Denver was looking at an upgrade to that area of their offense.
Hill, while admittedly not at all like McBride, would bring a new TE dimension to the Broncos in his own way.
No player in NFL history has the combination of passing, rushing and receiving statistics of Hill. He could make Denver’s offense feel refreshed and recharged.
There haven’t been any specific reports linking Hill to the Broncos, but it’s intriguing that they went after a tight end. Yes it was McBride, but it still suggests a bit of discontent with their current depth chart, which is led by Evan Engram and Adam Trautman.
Keep an eye on Hill, for whom there’s been no type of official retirement announcement. He might still want to play, and his old coach might have a use for him.
What About The Saints?
The Saints are deeper at tight end than Denver. They have Juwan Johnson, Noah Fant and Oscar Delp.
But if New Orleans came calling, Hill would probably listen. He spent his entire nine-year NFL career with the Saints, at least so far, and made all sorts of memories in New Orleans.
Hill might be near the end of his career, or even at the end of it. But there was no one like him, and no one in New Orleans would complain if the news ever emerged that Hill was coming back.
Saints’ Taysom Hill Has New Reason to Believe in Broncos, Sean Payton