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New Orleans Saints News & Rumors

Latest on Taysom Hill, Drew Brees

November 22nd, 2020 at 8:42am CST by Rory Parks

Today could be the dawn of a new era for the Saints, as Taysom Hill will get the nod at quarterback in place of the injured Drew Brees. Although some were surprised that New Orleans would turn to Hill instead of the considerably more experienced Jameis Winston, the Saints and head coach Sean Payton have made it clear that they see Hill as a long-term starter.

This offseason, the Saints and Hill agreed to a two-year, $21MM extension that keeps the 30-year-old under club control through the 2021 season. $16MM of that money was guaranteed at signing, and though the contract represents a big commitment for a backup QB/Swiss Army knife, it’s a modest payout for a starting signal-caller. And soon after the deal was signed, reports surfaced indicating that the club plans to give the job to Hill if Brees retires at the end of the 2020 campaign as expected.

So, one reason New Orleans is inserting Hill into the starting lineup is simply because it believes in him and thinks he provides the best chance to win in Brees’ absence. The other, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, is that the Saints need to know what they have in Hill.

A source familiar with Payton’s thinking said, “Sean just wants to know,” when asked why the head coach is forging ahead with Hill. After all, Hill has thrown just 18 passes in his pro career, and Brees’ injury gives the Saints a perfect opportunity to see if their faith in the BYU product is justified. If Hill struggles, the club could pivot to Winston, and it could also save $5MM against the 2021 cap by cutting Hill after the season.

Some within the organization do not agree with Payton’s choice, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Winston apparently has plenty of support among the team’s staffers, and Payton himself struggled with the decision. Depending on how things play out over the coming weeks, Winston remains an option for 2021.

As for Brees himself, his injury is even more extensive than previously thought. According to Ed Werder of ESPN.com, Brees has 11 rib fractures — eight on his left side and three on his right (Twitter link). However, doctors have been encouraged by Brees’ progress, including improvement in his lung function, and the 41-year-old passer believes he will be able to come off IR as soon as he is eligible in Week 14 (Twitter links via Werder).

Even if it takes until Week 15 for Brees to return to the field, it sounds like the Saints will have the future Hall of Famer back in time for at least one more playoff run.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/21/20

November 21st, 2020 at 4:42pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here is Saturday’s usual flood of minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Washington Football Team

Saints Sign QB Trevor Siemian

November 21st, 2020 at 8:28am CST by Ben Levine

With Drew Brees going on the injured reserve, the Saints have brought in a veteran option to fill his roster spot. NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports (via Twitter) that New Orleans has signed quarterback Trevor Siemian from the Titans practice squad.

The 28-year-old is joining a backup grouping that includes Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill. Despite the starting experience of the former, it’s sound like the Saints will turn to the latter this weekend against the Falcons. Siemian will temporarily serve as extra depth until Brees is eligible to return from IR; the 41-year-old passer is believed to have fractured at least five ribs and punctured a lung, and his placement on injured reserve indicates that he’ll be out until at least Week 14.

Siemian, a 2015 seventh-round pick, started 24 games for the Broncos between 2016 and 2017, going 13-11 while completing 59.3-percent of his passes for 5,689 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 24 interceptions. He started a game for the Jets in 2019, but he suffered a season-ending leg injury in that same contest.

He joined the Titans this past offseason, and there was an expectation that he’d be the backup to starter Ryan Tannehill. Instead, he was released by the team prior to the season, and he subsequently landed on Tennessee’s practice squad.

Saints Place Drew Brees On IR

November 20th, 2020 at 3:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

Drew Brees is now guaranteed to miss at least three games. The Saints placed the future Hall of Fame quarterback on IR on Friday, shelving him until Week 14.

Sean Payton declined to confirm reports Taysom Hill will replace Brees in New Orleans’ starting lineup instead of Jameis Winston. But that appears to be the plan, with ESPN.com’s Dianna Russini indicating the team is not planning to use Winston in any packages Sunday (Twitter link).

This is quite the bold strategy for the Saints, considering Hill has thrown 18 career passes. Winston may well see time during Brees’ absence, as he did when Brees went down in Week 10, but the former Buccaneers QB is currently set to be Hill’s backup. This certainly represents a step back for the five-year Bucs starter, who stands to be a free agent again in 2021.

As for Brees, he has sought additional opinions regarding his punctured lung and cracked ribs this week. The 41-year-old passer is believed to have fractured at least five ribs and punctured a lung. He was already confirmed to miss at least two games; the IR distinction will provide the Saints a roster spot.

Given the steep dropoff between Brees and his backups, this certainly could reshape the NFC playoff picture. Only one team receives a bye this year, thanks to the new CBA’s expanded playoff bracket, and no team has made a Super Bowl appearance without a bye since 2012. The Saints did win five games with Teddy Bridgewater starting last year, however. Over the next three weeks, the Saints have two games against the Falcons — in Weeks 11 and 13 — and one against the Broncos.

Saints To Start Taysom Hill Over Jameis Winston

November 20th, 2020 at 10:17am CST by Zachary Links

With Drew Brees sidelined, it looked as though the stage was set for Jameis Winston to reassert himself as an NFL starter. Instead, the Saints go with Taysom Hill on Sunday, leaving Winston to hold the clipboard against the Falcons (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter). 

While Winston set career-highs in passing yards (5,109) and touchdowns (33) in 2019, he also set a career-high (and led the NFL) with 30 interceptions. He later agreed to a one-year, $1.1MM deal with the Saints, giving him an opportunity to learn from Brees and, perhaps, take over for him if given the opportunity.

Winston got the call when Brees’ rib injury forced him out against the Niners, and he went on to complete six of ten passes for 63 yards. Apparently, that didn’t guarantee Winston’s status as the fill-in starter ahead of Hill. Regardless of who takes the first snap, the Saints could use Winston and Hill interchangeably.

After notching their sixth-straight win, the Saints are 7-2 and marching their way towards another playoff run. Meanwhile, both of their backup QBs will be making their case to take over for Brees in 2021, if the future Hall of Famer calls it a career.

Execs Believe Cap Is Big Saints 2021 Issue

November 19th, 2020 at 2:34pm CST by Sam Robinson
  • If the 2021 salary cap comes in at that $175MM floor, the Saints are projected to be a whopping $95MM over that salary ceiling. While the Mickey Loomis-led operation annually finds a way to navigate cap issues, this would be new territory. This situation has flummoxed several execs around the league, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, who adds the current NFL management council cap figure being used for projections ($198MM) is much higher than where the actual number is expected to land. Multiple GMs expect the cap to come in around $175MM, which would mark by far the biggest reduction in the cap’s 28-year history and create tremendous issues for the Saints and a few other teams.

Saints’ Drew Brees To Miss At Least 2 Games

November 18th, 2020 at 10:21am CST by Zachary Links

The Saints will be without Drew Brees for at least a little while longer. The latest round of tests on the quarterback more or less matched the previous one, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). With cracked ribs on both sides and a punctured lung, Brees will be out for the next two weeks at the minimum. After that, the Saints’ medical staff will closely monitor Brees’ condition to assess whether he can return to the field.

With Brees sidelined, Jameis Winston is expected to start for the Saints with his first assignment coming on Sunday against the Falcons.Winston filled in for Brees after his early exit against the 49ers, completing six of ten passes for 63 yards in the second half. This is a massive opportunity for Winston to reassert himself before free agency, even if his starting gig only lasts for a couple of weeks. The former first overall pick signed a one-year deal with the Saints back in April. Meanwhile, Brees is looking ahead to his broadcasting future, which means that Winston could be auditioning for the long-term position.

Given Brees’ impressive track record of playing through the pain — and the presence of Taysom Hill — many questioned the wisdom of Winston’s offseason decision. Now, he’ll have an opportunity to show what he can do at the helm of one of the NFL’s best teams.

Latest On Drew Breees

November 17th, 2020 at 1:05pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The top story in the NFL right now remains the injury to Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and exactly how long he’ll be out. We’re still a bit in the dark, but we’ve got a couple new developments to pass along.

Brees is having his scans sent to other experts for a second opinion on his cracked ribs and collapsed lung, a source told Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Brees has five clear rib fractures but could have even more, Werder noted in a follow-up tweet. Werder writes it’ll be the second opinion that determines whether or not Brees goes on injured reserve and in turn misses a minimum of three games.

We originally heard that injured reserve wasn’t being immediately considered, but it now sounds like that’s very much on the table. The absolute best case scenario seems to be that Jameis Winston and/or Taysom Hill fill in for the next couple of games. Ideally Brees would get a few games to readjust before the playoffs start, but he may not have that luxury. In a final tweet Werder says a source told him no determination on the length of his absence will be made until after the second opinions come in, so everything is still in flux.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/17/20

November 17th, 2020 at 12:00pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: LB Jake Carlock

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Cut: OT O’Shea Dugas

Dallas Cowboys

Kansas City Chiefs

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

QB Injury Updates: Brees, Darnold, Minshew, Lock, Dalton

November 16th, 2020 at 5:55pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

There have been a lot of short-term quarterback injuries recently, and we’ve got a batch of updates to pass along. We heard earlier Monday that Drew Brees is dealing with several cracked ribs as well as a collapsed lung, and now we have a better idea how long he’ll be sidelined. 2-3 weeks is apparently the “most optimistic recovery time” for the veteran, a source told Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Graziano said there’s emphasis on the optimistic part there, indicating it could be quite a bit longer than that.

He also added “there is hope he’s back in time for playoffs,” which doesn’t paint the prettiest picture. It sounds like it’ll be Jameis Winston and/or Taysom Hill for the foreseeable future. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported earlier the Saints weren’t immediately planning on placing Brees on injured reserve, confirming there is some hope he won’t even have to miss three full games. Graziano says it’ll all come down to when they feel like he can take a hit without risk of re-injury. New Orleans will take on the Falcons this weekend, and head coach Sean Payton has already said he won’t name a starting quarterback until closer to kickoff.

Here’s more on the health status of various passers:

  • The Jets will be looking for their first win of the season with Joe Flacco yet again. Sam Darnold will not be able to return this week, they announced Monday. This will be Flacco’s fourth start of the season after Darnold briefly returned before re-injuring his shoulder and hitting the shelf again. Head coach Adam Gase said he could possibly play in Week 12, but that doesn’t sound overly likely at the moment. Darnold himself spoke to the media, and made it sound like the team is going to be very cautious and not play him until he’s 100 percent. He did say he was “very confident” he would play again this season, but we could be looking at another couple of games at least with Flacco under center.
  • Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew also won’t be ready to return this week, head coach Doug Marrone said Monday, meaning sixth-round rookie Jake Luton will get his third-straight start. It does sound like Minshew is getting closer though, as Marrone said he’ll start throwing routes again in practice this week, via Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
  • Drew Lock melted down against the Raiders on Sunday with four interceptions, but he apparently wasn’t 100 percent healthy. Lock has a muscle strain around his ribs, a source told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). Head coach Vic Fangio acknowledged that his status for this weekend’s game against the Dolphins is in doubt. He also reiterated that he’s not considering benching the second-year pro assuming he’s healthy, even though he’s been struggling mightily recently. If he isn’t able to suit up Brett Rypien is currently the number two, although the team also has veteran Blake Bortles on the practice squad.
  • In better news, it looks like the Cowboys won’t have quite as chaotic a situation any more under center. Coach Mike McCarthy announced Monday that Andy Dalton had been cleared to fully return to practice, and he should start this Sunday against the Vikings. Dalton has missed the past two games after suffering a concussion and then testing positive for COVID-19. Seventh-round rookie Ben DiNucci and former undrafted AAF star Garrett Gilbert started in his place.
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