2 weeks Ago
New Orleans Saints tight end Taysom Hill (7) is attended to by team medical personal while Los Angeles Rams wide receiver coach Eric Yarber holds his hand after being injured during the fourth quarter of the game against the Los Angeles Rams at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (Staff photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune | NOLA.
com ) STAFF PHOTO BY DAVID GRUNFELD New Orleans Saints tight end Taysom Hill (7) is carted off the field after a play during the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (Photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune) STAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Just when you think it can't get any worse, the New Orleans Saints' dismal season nosedives to another level.
The Saints lost another game on Sunday and might have lost their best player along with it. Taysom Hill appears to have suffered a season-ending injury to his left knee. We won’t learn the extent of Hill’s injury until medical tests are performed, but preliminary indications are not good.
By video, @ProFootballDoc expects #Saints Taysom Hill to be out for the remainder of the season with a significant left knee injury. Here’s his full breakdown..
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com/DZnIUCK4OG When people say every play in the NFL is like a car wreck, Hill’s successful fourth-down conversion run late in the Saints’ 21-14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams is what they mean. As he sprinted left to pick up the first down, Hill planted his leg at the exact time he was violently sandwiched by a pair of colliding Rams: Kobie Durant submarining him from the front and Jared Verse frantically diving on his back from behind. Human bodies are not built to withstand such violent force, even ones as well put together as Hill’s.
Something had to give. It was Hill’s knee, which buckled backward, Gumby-like, and to the left. It was immediately apparent that Hill was seriously hurt.
He thrust his head back in pain as he lay prone on the turf. Teammates signaled to medical personnel on the sideline. Rams trainers and coaches rushed onto the field to tend to him.
When a teammate tried to give him a hand up, Hill waved him off. A pall fell over the Superdome crowd. The medical cart was needed to transport Hill from the field.
As Hill left, the crowd erupted in chants of "Tay-som! Tay-som! Tay-som!," and Hill raised his left arm in acknowledgement. Injuries happen in every NFL game. This one was different.
This one happened to Hill, arguably the most beloved player on the Saints roster, a player whose popularity has grown to legendary status during his incomparable eight-year career in New Orleans. Derek Carr summed up the moment best: “It is bigger than football at that moment. His family, his kids, his wife, everybody .
.. your heart just breaks.
” The NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Sunday night that Hill's knee injury is feared to be season-ending. If so, Hill faces a potentially long and difficult rehab in order to play again, a process he’s unfortunately become familiar with during his career. At Brigham Young, Hill suffered four different season-ending injuries to his knee, leg, foot and elbow.
In New Orleans, he largely avoided injuries until his fifth season. Since then, he’s battled through various ailments and setbacks, including multiple concussions, a season-ending foot injury in 2021 and rib injuries that sidelined him for three games earlier this season. It’s fair to wonder if Hill’s injury isn’t just season-ending but career-ending.
Former Saints defensive backs Jabari Greer and Steve Gleason retired suffering similar injuries in 2014 and 2008, respectively. Considering Hill’s age (35), injury history and growing family — he and wife, Emily, have two young sons, Beau and Bennett — it’s not inconceivable that he has played his last NFL game, or even his last game in a Saints uniform. He’s under contract for the 2025 season and the Saints have given every indication they plan to keep him around, but plans can change quickly in the NFL, especially for a team like the Saints, who are facing a major offseason overhaul.
Meantime, Hill’s injury serves as a stark reminder of the ephemeral nature of the violent, volatile NFL game. His injury comes just two weeks after his breakout game against the Cleveland Browns, where he rushed for a career-high 138 yards and three touchdowns in a performance that earned the NFC Offensive Player of the Week award. After his career day, Hill spoke to the mental and physical toll the game exacts on players, who are asked to sacrifice their bodies on a weekly basis for the good of the team.
“It’s a hard thing to balance mentally, emotionally and so forth,” he said, almost prophetically. “I understand trying to find a balance of making sure that you’re available and all of that, but we also need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to win football games.” Hill was then asked how much longer he planned to keep playing.
Hill, as he often does, contemplated the question for a moment before answering: “I don't know. I don't know. One game at a time.
We'll see.” Here’s hoping there are indeed more games in Hill’s future. He plays the game with old-school passion and comports himself with a refreshing humility.
He's a unicorn in cleats and a joy to watch. But if there aren’t more games, it certainly would be understandable. Hill has given his all to the game, including an immeasurable amount of his personal wellbeing.
At this point, he owes it — and us — nothing. As Carr said, some things are bigger than football..
