NEW ORLEANS — We're in a holding pattern waiting for Drew Brees to decide what he wants to do. Here's where the Saints quarterback situation stands right now.
Drew Brees will either play for the Saints or retire. Before the Superbowl, Sean Payton said he expects Brees’ decision by the end of February.
We think, as of Tuesday afternoon, we have another week, maybe two weeks, before we get an answer from Brees, so the Saints are in a holding pattern waiting for that.
Multiple reports have said that Sean Payton believes Taysom Hill is his next quarterback, and Hill told the Associated Press he wants to be paid like a franchise quarterback.
Here's what will likely happen: the Saints will likely assign a first round tender to Taysom Hill.
He is a restricted free agent, meaning the Saints have the right of first refusal if anybody else signed him to a contract. By putting a first round tender on Taysom Hill, what that would mean from the Saints’ standpoint?
Last year the first round tender price meant you had to pay him at least $4.4 million. Taysom Hill made $645,000 as a Saint last year, so $4.4 million would represent a nice raise for him. Teddy Bridgewater as the Saints backup made over $7 million in 2019, so it's a reasonable price for the Saints.
By putting the first round tender on Taysom Hill, if another team signs Taysom Hill to a contract, the Saints will then have two choices: Either match that contract and keep Hill or let that team have Hill in exchange for that teams first round draft pick.
That's the cost of the first round tender: You're guaranteed to pay him a little bit more money, but you're also getting a first round draft pick if you let them go.
It would make a huge difference whether the team that signs Hill has the seventh pick in the draft or the 28th pick in the Draft.
It appears, for now, the Saints are waiting on a decision from Drew Brees, but all indications are Sean Payton is all in on Taysom Hill, as his next quarterback, whether next means this season in 2020, or in 2021.
And we're waiting on Drew Brees and that's where all the dominoes begin.
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