Whether playing on Provo's BYU campus in college or in New Orleans in the NFL, no player has had a career like Taysom Hill.
For the last nine years BYU fans have had the joy of watching Taysom do the unprecedented during his tenure with the Saints. The versatile jack-of-all-trades has done just about everything as an NFL player, including playing quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, kick returner, and special teams ace.
But now, at 35 years old, dealing with injuries and coming off the final year of his contract for a rebuilding Saints team, we have to ask if we have seen the last of Taysom Hill in the NFL.
Taysom Hill's glorious BYU career
Before taking the NFL world by storm, BYU fans were privileged to see what a healthy Taysom Hill could do as a dual-threat college quarterback. In five injury-plagued seasons in Provo between 2012-2016, Taysom Hill was electric when he played at 100%.
In 37 career games for the Cougars, he passed for 6,929 yards and 43 touchdowns. But it was Hill's ability to run the ball that allowed him to dominate in college. He rushed for 2,815 yards and 32 more touchdowns on the ground. In two games against the Texas Longhorns in 2013 and 2014, Taysom memorably ran for a total of 358 yards and six touchdowns in two BYU victories.
But most of that production came in the 2013 and 2016 seasons, with the remainder being derailed by injuries.
Those injury concerns dropped Taysom Hill from being an early-season 2014 Heisman candidate to going undrafted in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Taysom Hill's unmatched NFL career
The Green Bay Packers signed Hill as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2017, and he impressed them -- and other NFL talent evaluators -- with a strong preseason showing.
Instead of putting Hill on the 53-man roster, Green Bay released him at final roster cuts hoping he would fly under the radar, clear waivers, and then the Packers could sign him to their practice squad. But fortunately for Taysom Hill and BYU fans everywhere, an innovative head coach in Sean Payton saw Hill's potential and claimed him off waivers for the New Orleans Saints. That eventually led to a marriage between the forward-thinking Payton and his Swiss Army Knife in Taysom Hill he could deploy all over the football field.
Now, nine seasons later, Taysom Hill has put together the most unique, versatile "football player" resume in the history of modern football.
As a quarterback, he has thrown for 2,426 yards and 12 touchdowns.
As a ballcarrier, he has rushed for 2,551 yards and 34 touchdowns, averaging a monster 5.2 yards per carry.
As a receiver, he produced 110 receptions for 1,034 yards and 11 more scores.
As a special teams ace, he has 19 tackles and returned 20 kickoffs for 489 yards.
Taysom Hill holds a number of NFL records for his versatile production. His is the first player in the Super Bowl era with at least 1,000 passing, rushing, and receiving yards. He became the first player since Frank Gifford in 1964 with at least 10 passing, rushing, and receiving touchdowns. Last year he became the first player in NFL history with a game of at least 100 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns, 50 receiving yards, and 10 passing yards.
He was twice named NFC Offensive Player of the Week (2022 and 2024) and was once named Special Teams Player of the Week (2018).
Hill's ability to impact the game from multiple positions made him an object of fascination and adoration in most NFL circles. He has been beloved in New Orleans and the broader football world in general.
But the thrilling ride may be coming to an end.
While Taysom hasn't made any announcements about his future plans -- and it could include returning to the NFL -- it wouldn't be surprising if he played his last professional snaps on Sunday. His production in 2025 significantly dropped versus previous seasons has he returned from a December 2024 ACL tear and additional damage to his knee. He didn't seem as explosive as he was in previous seasons and averaged just 2.2 yards on 52 carries this year. He left Sunday's game with a shoulder injury and the extent of that injury isn't yet known.
Sean Payton left New Orleans in 2023 for the Denver Broncos and guided his team to a 14-3 record this season. Perhaps Payton would want to bring Hill to Denver as a mentor for younger players, a good locker room influence, and handle a few specialized packages for downs and distances that fit Hill's skill set. Only time will tell.
If we did see the BYU legend's last game on Sunday, his career was one for the ages.
There will never be another Taysom Hill.