Katherine Terrell, ESPN Staff WriterDec 1, 2024, 12:38 PM ET
- Katherine Terrell came back to ESPN to cover the New Orleans Saints in the summer of 2022. She left the company in 2019 after joining in 2016 to cover the Cincinnati Bengals. Katherine is a graduate of LSU and a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native, and she has covered the NFL since 2013. You can follow Katherine on Twitter: @Kat_Terrell
METAIRIE, La -- New Orleans Saints tight end Taysom Hill will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL, interim coach Darren Rizzi announced Monday.
"Taysom's got a knee injury. It looks like it's going to be season ending for him unfortunately. I think he'll probably get a second opinion on some of this stuff, but looks like he'll be season ending," Rizzi said.
Hill appeared to take a helmet to his left knee while running for a first down late in the 21-14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. His knee bent back awkwardly as he fell to the ground, and he remained down as athletic trainers attended to him.
Teammates and several Rams players knelt on the ground as trainers tested Hill's leg before calling for a cart. Hill got on the cart as the crowd chanted his name, and he waved to the fans before being driven off the field.
Rizzi said losing Hill means that multiple players will have to step up to fill all the roles Hill played.
"It's hard to sit here and tell you that you're going to replace Taysom because you can't," Rizzi said. "He's a phenomenal person, player, leader, captain and all those different things. So, it's certainly a big loss, but the only way we can do it is everybody else has to step up."
This is the third major injury for Hill this season. Hill, 34, was transported to a local hospital during a Week 2 game against the Dallas Cowboys after suffering a chest injury, which was reportedly a bruised lung.
Hill missed a game with that injury and missed another three games due to rib fractures that caused him to leave a Week 4 game against the Atlanta Falcons in the first half.
Hill has sustained numerous injuries in his eight seasons. He got a concussion during the 2021 season and played with a torn ligament in his throwing hand in 2020. That year, he also had a left Lisfranc fracture during the season finale (he had a Lisfranc fracture on his right foot in college).
Hill finishes the season with 39 carries for 278 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 23 passes for 187 yards and completed 2 of 4 passes this season and also had a 42-yard kick return.
Hill has one year remaining on his contract and was recently called "ageless" by Rizzi after setting career highs of 230 all-purpose yards, 188 yards from scrimmage, 138 rushing yards, 15 touches and 8 receptions in the Saints' 35-14 win against the Cleveland Browns in Week 11.
"I don't know if I can compare him to anybody else that I've ever coached because there's not a guy that comes to mind that has been able to do all the different things he's been able to do just in one game. Forget about his career," Rizzi said Monday. "... I used to joke around about the Bugs Bunny thing. The kids watch Bugs Bunny doing all the cartoons and he plays every position, but really there's not a guy that I could sit here and tell you that I could compare him to. So, listen, it's a big loss. It's not going to take one person to fill that role. ... it's going to take multiple people to fill that role because he's so multidimensional."
